Clinical Evaluation of a Transcutaneous Interrogated Fluorescence Lifetime-Based Microsensor for Continuous Glucose Reading.

BACKGROUND:Continuous glucose monitoring is presently used worldwide. Accuracy, precision, durability, invasiveness, and lack of drift of sensors and lag time are key parameters essential to these systems. This article describes a new online minimally invasive biodegradable microsensor for optical, transcutaneous interrogation, which has at least 14 days of functionality.METHOD:Studies were performed in vitro and in vivo on pigs, as well as on type 1 diabetic humans. Functionality has been ensured in laboratory settings, and precision and durability have been tested in vivo. During in vivo studies, venous blood samples were used as reference. Results were based on one single point calibration per experiment.RESULTS:Excellent stability was found in 14-day in vitro trials as well as in vivo in up to 70-hour trials. The overall median relative absolute difference of type 1 diabetic patients was 11.4%. Error grid analysis showed 97.7% of all values in the A+B zone. Comparable results were found in animal studies. No sensor drift was observed in any trial.CONCLUSION:Results point toward the possibility of developing a stable and precise minimally invasive glucose reader for at least 2 weeks of continuous use.