Potential of Near-Infrared Optical Techniques for Non-invasive Blood Glucose Measurement: A Pilot Study

Diabetes mellitus manifested by escalated blood glucose, demands periodic or continuous glucose monitoring in the pursuit of improved control, optimal management, and appropriate medication. The existing state-of-the-art for blood glucose estimation are invasive methodologies necessitating the acquisition of blood sample through either a finger-stick or venipuncture. We propose a dual Near-infrared wavelength integrated in a 3D printed enclosure as the optical prototype for non-invasive glucose estimation. We acquired data from both diabetic and healthy subjects with the developed system and subsequently validated the system. The system demonstrated commendable clinical accuracy, as evidenced by the alignment of data pairs representing actual blood glucose levels and blood glucose levels predicted by our optical system within the A+B zones of the Parkes error grid and zones of no-risk and lower risk as defined by the surveillance error grid. We achieved compliant pairs percentage of 95.6%, which satisfies the accuracy requirements of the blood glucose monitoring surveillance study. The mean absolute percentage error attained with the proposed device (5.99%) was significant in predicting the blood glucose. We successfully deployed the NIR wavelengths functionality as the promising approach for glucose monitoring, offering new possibilities for improved medical interventions. •An optical device developed for non-invasive glucose monitoring in DM management.•The device predicted blood glucose values within clinically acceptable range.•System designed to be user-friendly and independent of technical intervention.•Possess the potential to function as a point-of-care device for glucose monitoring.