Eliminating the Prick: MIT’s Raman Spectroscopy Breakthrough for Noninvasive Glucose Monitoring

  

About Topic In Short:
	Who: The noninvasive glucose monitoring system was developed by a team of scientists and biomedical engineers at the MIT Laser Biomedical Research Center (LBRC),. Key researchers involved include MIT research scientist and study co-author Jeon Woong Kang and postdoc Arianna Bresci,
	What: The device is a noninvasive blood-glucose monitoring system designed to replace painful finger pricks and under-the-skin sensors for people with diabetes,. Although the current prototype is about the size of a shoebox, the team aims to scale it down to a wearable device as small as a watch,
	How: The system uses Raman spectroscopy, a technique that identifies chemical composition by shining near-infrared or visible light on organic tissues and analyzing the scattered light,,. To shrink the device, researchers discovered they only needed to measure three spectral bands (one glucose and two background) instead of the nearly 1,000 bands in the full Raman spectrum,

 

The Challenge of Current Diabetes Management

For individuals managing diabetes, frequent glucose checks remain a major challenge. For decades, monitoring glucose levels required multiple daily finger pinpricks to obtain blood samples. Although wearable glucose monitors have grown in popularity, they still present issues, requiring a sensor wire to be inserted under the skin to analyze interstitial fluid. Furthermore, these under-the-skin sensors must be replaced every 10 to 15 days and frequently cause irritation. Because painful methods deter patients, many diabetic patients are under-testing their blood glucose levels, which can lead to serious complications.

Light-Based Innovation: The Power of Raman Spectroscopy

A team of scientists and biomedical engineers at the MIT Laser Biomedical Research Center (LBRC) has developed a new, noninvasive blood-glucose monitoring system to replace these methods. The approach utilizes Raman spectroscopy, a technique that identifies chemical composition by shining near-infrared or visible light on organic tissues, like skin, and analyzing how the light scatters from different molecules. Researchers at the LBRC have been working on this light-based approach for over 15 years, initially showing in 2010 that they could estimate glucose levels by comparing Raman signals from interstitial fluid to a reference blood glucose reading.

{The MIT team used Raman spectroscopy—a technique that reveals the chemical composition of tissues by shining near-infrared or visible light on them—to develop a shoebox-sized device that can measure blood glucose levels without using any needles. }

From Printer to Shoebox: Achieving Practicality

A significant hurdle in the early development of this technology was the size of the required equipment. Early successful measurements required equipment roughly the size of a desktop printer. However, the latest study focuses on shrinking the system. Researchers discovered they could significantly reduce the device’s footprint by targeting specific molecular features in the Raman spectrum. A full Raman spectrum generally contains about 1,000 spectral bands. The MIT team found that they could accurately determine blood glucose levels by measuring only three bands: one glucose band and two background measurements. This innovative approach allowed them to remove bulky components and produce a cost-effective prototype about the size of a shoebox.

Thus Speak Authors/Experts

Jeon Woong Kang, MIT research scientist and study co-author: “Nobody wants to prick their finger every day, multiple times a day,” emphasizing that many diabetic patients are under-testing their blood glucose levels, which can cause serious complications. Kang added, “If we can make a noninvasive glucose monitor with high accuracy, then almost everyone with diabetes will benefit from this new technology”.

Arianna Bresci, MIT postdoc, researcher, and study co-author: Bresci explained the efficiency of the new method, stating, “By refraining from acquiring the whole spectrum, which has a lot of redundant information, we go down to three bands selected from about 1,000”. She continued, “With this new approach, we can change the components commonly used in Raman-based devices, and save space, time, and cost”.

The Path to Wearable Comfort

The shoebox-sized prototype demonstrated promising accuracy in initial tests with a healthy volunteer, producing readings comparable to two commercially available, invasive glucose monitors. Each measurement scan takes slightly more than 30 seconds to complete.

While the current prototype is not wearable, the research team is actively focused on scaling down the device. They have already developed a smaller, cellphone-sized prototype that is currently undergoing testing as a wearable monitor in a small clinical study involving healthy and prediabetic volunteers. Ultimately, the team plans to shrink the device to the size of a watch. Researchers are also working to ensure the technology's feasibility by focusing on additional clinical tests, larger studies (including people with diabetes next year), and its ability to scan accurately across all skin tones.

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 All Images Credit: from References/Resources sites [Internet]

Hashtag/Keyword/Labels List: #DiabetesManagement #NoninvasiveGlucoseMonitoring #RamanSpectroscopy #MITBreakthrough #NeedleFree #WearableTech #HealthTech #MedicalDevices #AnalyticalChemistry #LBRC

References/Resources List:

1. https://www.electronicsforu.com/news/needle-free-glucose-check 
2. https://news.mit.edu/2025/noninvasive-imaging-could-replace-finger-pricks-diabetes-1203 
3. https://www.popsci.com/health/diabetes-noninvasive-glucose-monitor/  

 

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