Diabetes is a world health problem and it is increasing. Fortunately glucometers ease diabetes patient care by measuring the amount of glucose in the blood so patients can make decisions about taking necessary medications.
A glucometer is used to determine the approximate concentration of glucose in the blood and is a key element of home-based blood glucose monitoring for people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. A small drop of blood is placed on a disposable test strip that the meter reads and uses to calculate the blood glucose level. The conductivity of blood is affected by the quantity of glucose present. This biological phenomenon can be modeled with an electrical circuit. The voltage drop in the variable resistance is determined by conductivity of the resistance. When the conductivity is high, the voltage drop is low, and when the conductivity is low, the voltage drop is high. These variations can be analyzed by a microprocessor (MCU) to determine the glucose concentration and display on an LCD.
The functionality of a blood glucose meter can be expanded to allow wired or wireless communication with other devices such as smart phones, insulin dispensers or calorimeters. This can be useful for telehealth applications and remote patient monitoring. Freescale offers specific MCUs with integrated analog blocks and ZigBee
and proprietary wireless solutions for glucometers.
Which kind of challenge are you facing when designing glucometer ?
