Soon, device that tracks glucose levels all day long

Scientists have engineered a new protein that could one day be part of an implantable device that can monitor fluctuating glucose levels for diabetics throughout the day.
Nearly half a million people with diabetes end up in emergency rooms around the US every year due to the seizures and other consequences of dropping or spiking blood-sugar levels associated with the disease, researchers said.
To help prevent serious complications, scientists have developed the new glucose-sensing protein that could one day be part of an implantable monitoring device.
Most patients with diabetes track glucose levels by using a glucose metre. They prick a finger with a tiny needle to draw blood, which they apply to a test strip inserted into the metre.

It provides a reading of the level at that moment. But glucose levels change throughout the day, so many readings are needed. That's not always convenient, and some people find that pricking their finger is painful.
As a result, many patients don't test their blood as often as they should, risking complications such as seizures.

For more continuous monitoring, some patients use implantable devices that measure blood-sugar as often as once a minute, but they have drawbacks.
They are expensive, can only be used for up to a week and are not as reliable as conventional metres.
The new study focused on a protein that has already been explored as a good candidate for use in a continuous glucose monitoring system. It's a glucose/galactose binding protein (GBP) that changes shape when it attaches to glucose.

Researchers engineered it so it would be stable in and out of the body for long periods and so that it could also detect levels of glucose within the range that would be present in a person with diabetes.
The study was published in the journal ACS Chemical Biology.