A new continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that is not only non-invasive but that predicts blood sugar levels from ECG data promises to shake up diabetes management. The device is being showcased at the 2024 Taiwan Innotech Expo.
一款新的连续血糖监测器(CGM),不仅无创,还能从 ECG 数据预测血糖水平,有望颠覆糖尿病管理。该设备将在 2024 年台湾创新技术展上展出。
Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) have revolutionized diabetes management by providing around-the-clock blood sugar levels and trends, as well as access to comprehensive data that enables medical professionals to make personalized adjustments to insulin therapy.
连续血糖监测仪(CGMs)通过提供全天候的血糖水平和趋势,以及允许医疗专业人员根据个性化调整胰岛素治疗的全面数据,彻底改变了糖尿病管理。
In essence, CGMs allow for better blood sugar control, thereby reducing the risk of diabetics developing disease-related complications.
本质上,CGMs 允许更好的血糖控制,从而降低糖尿病患者发展与疾病相关的并发症的风险。
However, current CGMs have some limitations. They’re invasive, requiring the insertion of a sensor, albeit a very, very thin one, under the skin. Additionally, they can be expensive, can only be used for a limited number of days, and produce waste.
然而,当前的 CGMs 存在一些限制。它们具有侵入性,需要在皮肤下插入一个传感器,尽管这个传感器非常非常薄。此外,它们可能很昂贵,只能使用有限的几天,并产生废物。
However, at Taiwan Innotech Expo 2024, the company Singular Wings Medical has shown off its non-invasive CGM that monitors blood sugar using – wait for it – an electrocardiogram, or ECG, signal. Yes, the heartbeat; from the heart.
然而,在 2024 年的台湾创新技术展上,Singular Wings Medical 公司展示了一款非侵入式 CGM 设备,该设备使用——请等待——心电图(ECG)信号监测血糖。是的,从心脏的跳动。
“We developed this sensor to collect physiological data, information including ECG, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature,” said Jenny Tseng, Singular Wing’s marketing specialist, when New Atlas spoke with her at the expo. “And at this exhibition, we display the glucose monitoring. So, we use ECG to estimate the glucose level for high, medium, and low glucose level.”
“我们开发了这个传感器来收集生理数据,包括 ECG、心率、呼吸和体温信息,”Singular Wing 的市场专家詹妮·曾在接受 New Atlas 采访时说。“在这个展览会上,我们展示了血糖监测。因此,我们使用 ECG 来估算高、中、低血糖水平。”
It's understandable that you might be skeptical. How can heart rhythm and blood sugar possibly be connected? How does a device provide continuous blood glucose monitoring when it’s not measuring fluids inside the body? How accurate is it? These are all valid questions.
可以理解你可能会怀疑。心脏节律和血糖怎么可能有关联?设备如何提供连续的血糖监测,如果它不测量体内液体呢?它的准确性如何?这些都是合理的问题。
Let’s start with the basics: what’s an ECG? It’s a non-invasive way of reading the electrical activity of the heart that, ordinarily, is used to diagnose issues with the heart rate or rhythm.
让我们从基础开始:什么是 ECG?它是一种非侵入性读取心脏电活动的方法,通常用于诊断心脏速率或节律方面的问题。
In a clinical setting, it might involve placing a number of little gel pads around the chest and on the arms and legs and laying still for about a minute. Of course, these days, many wearables constantly monitor a user’s heart rate and rhythm.
在临床环境中,这可能涉及在胸部和手臂、腿部放置多个小凝胶垫,并保持静止大约一分钟。当然,如今,许多可穿戴设备会持续监测用户的 heartbeat 和心律。
Despite primarily being used for diagnosis in the field of cardiology, over the last few years, with the advancement of the tech found in wearables like smartwatches and smart rings, researchers have looked into whether ECG signals can be used to estimate blood sugar levels in both healthy and diabetic subjects.
尽管主要应用于心脏病学的诊断,但在过去几年中,随着智能手表和智能戒指等可穿戴设备中技术的发展,研究人员开始探索心电图信号是否可以用于估计健康和糖尿病患者的血糖水平。
Studies have shown that low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) affect the electrical characteristics of the heart, producing particular changes that can be seen on an ECG. Researchers have used machine learning to analyze ECGs and develop algorithms based on them, using those algorithms to accurately predict blood sugar.
研究显示,低血糖(低血糖)和高血糖(高血糖)会影响心脏的电特性,产生特定的变化,这些变化可以在心电图(ECG)上看到。研究人员使用机器学习来分析心电图,并基于它们开发算法,使用这些算法准确预测血糖水平。
Singular Wings has done the same with its non-invasive CGM, although the product is still being developed.
单翼公司也对其非侵入式 CGM 进行了同样的操作,尽管该产品仍在开发中。
“Because we use machine learning method and … the accuracy, the average accuracy, I can tell you, is about 80%,” said Dick Hsieh, PhD, account manager for Singular Wings. “But it’s about model training. We still need [a] validation stage.
狄克·許,單元翅膀的帳戶經理,說:“因為我們使用機器學習方法……準確度,平均準確度,我可以告訴你,大約是 80%。”“但這是關於模型訓練。我們仍然需要驗證階段。”
But the result of [the] validation stage, it is [at] the moment unknown.”
但验证阶段的结果,目前尚不知晓。
A user’s ECG is recorded using Singular Wings’ BEATINFO sensor, which integrates with the BEATINFO Health app available on the Apple Store and Google Play. The sensor, which weighs only 15 grams (0.5 oz), can be worn with a chest strap or removable patch; both are biocompatible and anti-allergenic.
用户使用 Singular Wings 的 BEATINFO 传感器记录心电图,该传感器与苹果应用商店和谷歌 Play 上可用的 BEATINFO 健康应用程序集成。该传感器仅重 15 克(0.5 盎司),可以与胸带或可移除贴片一起佩戴;两者均具有生物相容性和抗过敏性。
The CGM feeds its data to the Health app in real time and provides a notification to the user if their blood sugar falls outside the normal range. Singular Wings expects its non-invasive CGM to be available in about two years.
连续血糖监测系统实时将数据传输到健康应用程序,并在血糖水平超出正常范围时向用户发出通知。Singular Wings 预计其无创 CGM 大约在两年后可提供。
Source: Singular Wings 来源:单翼天使