Key patent granted for Glucosense's technology

RNS Number : 0582T

NetScientific PLC

15 July 2015

 

NetScientific plc

Significant European patent granted on Glucosense Diagnostics technology

London, UK - 15 July 2015 - NetScientific plc ("NetScientific" or "the Group", AIM: NSCI), the transatlantic biomedical and healthcare technology group, highlights University of Leeds' announcement about its jointly funded portfolio company, Glucosense Diagnostics (Glucosense). Today the award of the first critical European patent covering Glucosense's core technology is also announced - marking a significant milestone for the company.

Glucosense is developing a fully non-invasive device to measure the real-time blood glucose levels of people living with diabetes. It could provide a simpler, pain-free and more cost effective alternative to the traditional finger-pricking test.

The technology uses nano-engineered silica glass with ions that fluoresce when stimulated by a low power laser. When the glass is in contact with the user's skin, the extent of the fluorescent signal varies in relation to the concentration of glucose in their blood - enabling a direct measurement of glucose levels.

Initial clinical testing of a prototype device showed a clinically acceptable accuracy rate of 96.5% indicating that the device has the potential to be at least as accurate as current methods. Further device development is underway which will be followed by more clinical studies.

David Gough, Chairman of Glucosense Diagnostics and NetScientific's Head of European Investments and Operations, commented: "Glucosense's technology has the potential to transform the lives of millions of people by providing a way to monitor blood glucose without the need for a needle. We hope people will be encouraged to regularly monitor themselves as a finger-touch rather than finger-prick test is far more appealing. Better self-regulation would help minimise related health complications and emergency hospital treatments.

"The award of an important European patent for Glucosense's laser technology is a significant step in preparing the ground for commercial launch within the next three years. We are developing a non-invasive continuous monitoring wearable which may replace implanted devices for people with the severe Type I diabetes; it will also help people with lifestyle induced Type 2 diabetes - a much larger and rapidly growing population."

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The University of Leeds announcement can be found here: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/30292/press_releases

About diabetes

Diabetes is a growing global problem. Over 380 million people are estimated to have diabetes at a cost of $500bn to healthcare providers. By 2035, this number is expected to rise to nearly 600 million adults worldwide. People with diabetes need to regularly measure their blood glucose levels up to 5-8 times a day. Currently, this is done by finger-pricking with a needle - a process that is uncomfortable and messy. As a result, many people do not test themselves as often as they should.

About NetScientific

NetScientific is a biomedical and healthcare technology group that funds and develops technologies that offer transformative benefits to people's lives and society through improved diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. For more information, please visit the website at www.netscientific.net. 

About Glucosense

Glucosense is a NetScientific portfolio company jointly formed and initially funded by the University of Leeds and NetScientific plc. It is developing a non-invasive blood glucose monitoring device which could greatly improve the lives of people living with diabetes. The technology's nano-engineered silica glass is used with a low-powered laser to provide real-time measurements of the concentration of glucose in blood. The device has the promise of becoming the first non-invasive way to measure glucose levels, providing a simpler, pain-free and potentially cheaper alternative to the current finger-pricking method. It also has continuous monitoring capabilities making it ideal to be developed as a wearable hypoglycaemia-alert device and replacement for the implantable continuous glucose monitoring device that some people living with Type 1 diabetes require. 

www.glucosense.net 

About University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK, with more than 31,000 students from 147 different countries, and a member of the Russell Group research-intensive universities.

We are a top 10 university for research and impact power in the UK, according to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, and positioned as one of the top 100 best universities in the world in the 2014 QS World University Rankings. 

www.leeds.ac.uk
 

Contact Details

NetScientific Peter Thoms, CFO	Tel: [phone]
Investec Gary Clarence / Daniel Adams	Tel: [phone]
Instinctif Partners Melanie Toyne-Sewell / Jayne Crook / Rosanna Forrest	Tel: [phone] Email: [e-mail]

 

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