The diabetes monitoring equipment, if proven successful, could serve as a replacement for daily, repetitive finger-prick testing by diabetics.
SPRINGFIELD – Western New England University Professor Ronny Priefer said last week that he hopes his newly invented medical “breathalyzer,” scheduled for an extensive clinical study, will someday serve as a painless alternative to continuous finger-prick blood monitoring by diabetics.
Priefer, a professor of medical chemistry in the College of Pharmacy, said he was honored and excited to present his research to the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists at its annual meeting and exposition in San Antonio, Nov. 10-14.
The university has applied for a patent of the handheld device that is designed to detect acetone levels to monitor blood glucose in diabetics.
If the study is successful, the device could be a great substitute for the current practice in which diabetics must repeatedly draw blood, through finger pricks, multiple times every day, he said.
“Normally, I am very modest,” Priefer said, of his reaction to presenting his research to the national association. “I was ecstatic. There is a little pride as well, more motivation to see it succeed.”
The university will conduct clinical tests that are proposed to last approximately eight months with many volunteers, Priefer said. The test patients will use both the new breathalyzer technology and the finger-prick method, with a diary of all results and a log of everything eaten, Priefer said.
“We will have a huge amount of data,” Priefer said.
The handheld device uses “multilayer nanotechnology to detect acetone (that) has been shown to correlate with blood-glucose levels in the breath of diabetics,” the national association stated, in a prepared release after the exposition.
Dr. Chelsea Gordner, director of inpatient diabetes at Baystate Medical Center said the new technology would be of great benefit to patients if proven to work.
“It was a bit of a surprise, and I would wonder about the accuracy of the ability to measure blood glucose levels,” said Gordner, who is both an adult endocrinologist and an pediatric endocrinologist at Baystate Medical/Baystate Children’s Hospital.
“It would be very exciting if it comes out in the near future and is effective but I have doubts,” Gordner said.
Priefer, who lives in Wilbraham, said he and university colleagues continue to prepare for the clinical testing.
Both Priefer and Gordner said the finger-prick method can be very difficult for patients.
“I have some patients, particularly in pediatrics, that check their blood sugars up to 10 to 12 times a day. “It can be painful and exhausting. They really run out of fingers.”
Priefer said some diabetics may at times skip the finger pricks because of the pain or inconvenience. Skipping the monitoring can be a danger to their health, he said.
Gordner said that “plenty of patients might avoid blood sugar monitoring because it’s time consuming, painful and inconvenient.”
Priefer praised the university for its support and said he is getting “phenomenal” help on the project from: Kam Capoccia, clinical associate professor; Izabela Collier, clinical assistant professor; and Michael Rust, assistant professor of biomedical engineering.
Diabetes affects an estimated 347 million people worldwide, according to the World health Organization.
The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientist, in releasing news of Priefer’s research, stated that the current method of blood testing is “invasive and causes discomfort to patients, often resulting in low compliance. This in turn can ultimately lead to poor health outcomes.”
Prior to coming to Western New England less than two years ago, Priefer was chairman of the chemistry and biochemistry department at Niagara College in New York.