August 13, 2003
Blood Tests and Insulin Injections
Question from Amherst, New Hampshire, USA:
I had an idea about blood glucose testing today, but I think there must be more complications than I can currently think of. Why don’t they make a small needle, just long enough to reach the blood in a finger and be able to ‘cap’ it. That way, you wouldn’t need to lance a finger each time to test but just ‘uncap’ this needle to get half a drop of blood. Would there possibly be complications with blood clots?
Answer:
There have been several solutions over the years to the problem of repeated finger sticks in people with diabetes. One very early one was rather like your ‘cap’ proposal, which used a very fine needle connected to a short flexible length of polyethylene tubing and was known as a ‘butterfly’ needle. However, although it could be used for repeated sampling, it was really too cumbersome for constant use. The next step was to use a very fine needle on the forearm which was essentially painless — see Alternate Site Testing. And finally, there is a device that is completely noninvasive — see the GlucoWatch.
DOB
