Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

SU chemistry professor develops breakthrough technology for non-invasive, pain-free glucose testing

Tuesday, October 11, 2005, By News Staff
Share

SU chemistry professor develops breakthrough technology for non-invasive, pain-freeglucose testingOctober 11, 2005Carol K. Masiclatclkim@syr.edu

A Syracuse University chemistry professor has patented a device that aims to make painful fingerstick testing of glucose levels a thing of the past for diabetics. To address the problems of invasive blood glucose testing, Professor Joseph Chaiken, of the Department of Chemistry in The College of Arts and Sciences, has developed the LighTouch, which accurately monitors glucose levels without a single drop of blood.

The novel procedure uses a laser to measure spectroscopic signals in blood while the blood is still in the capillaries. Abnormal levels of blood components, such as glucose, can be detected without pricking a person’s finger.

“Professor Chaiken has been indefatigable in his efforts to develop a glucose test for diabetics that does not involve pricking the finger to obtain a drop of blood,” says Eric A. Schiff, associate dean of natural sciences and mathematics and professor of physics at SU. “As one would expect from an outstanding scientist, his work with his collaborators to establish the validity of the method has been meticulous, and has been published in excellent, peer-reviewed scientific journals.” Chaiken’s research involves using spectroscopy to gain a fundamental understanding of light and matter interactions, then applying that research to solve practical problems of importance.

The LighTouch uses a method called Raman spectroscopy to focus a laser-which Chaiken refers to as a “CD-player type of laser that has been kicked up a notch to deliver a purer red color,”-onto the fingertip and analyze the various colors of the light exiting the finger. These colors are indicative of the types and quantities of the different chemicals in the tissue being illuminated by the laser. By making two suchmeasurements, first with the fingertip under no pressure and the second with slight pressure applied to the flesh, researchers are able to compare the measurements and analyze only those colors that come from the part of the fingertip which moves under slight pressure-the blood. The procedure is completely painless and produces results with accuracy and precision comparable to existing fingerstick devices.

“Just as an electrocardiogram machine (EKG) produces an electrocardiogram, the LighTouch produces a Ramagram,” says Chaiken. Raman spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique used in condensed matter physics and chemistry to examine vibrational, rotational and other low-frequency modes in a system. It is named for Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, who won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering “feeble fluorescence,” later known as the Raman effect, in 1928.

Experts believe Chaiken’s pioneering work will result in increased regular blood sugar testing by diabetics, a critical step in controlling diabetes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diabetes is a leading cause of death worldwide. WHO estimates that about 150 million people have diabetes; that number may double by 2025.

For his achievement, Chaiken has been named the winner of the 2005 Frank Annunzio Award in the field of science/technology by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. The $25,000 award was presented to Chaiken at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10. The foundation is a federal government agency established by Congress to “encourage and support research, study and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind.” The award honors living Americans who are improving the world through ingenuity and innovation, and to provide incentive for continuing the research. It is named for the late Rep. Frank Annunzio, founder of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation.

Chaiken predicts that availability of a non-portable glucose machine for the public is still a few years away, depending on FDA approval. The first LighTouch devices will appear in clinics, doctors’ offices and hospitals. The next step would be portable devices that measure glucose, as well as non-portable devices that measure other analytes such as cholesterol, urea and total protein; Chaiken believes these machines can be developed in the coming years. He holds U.S. and worldwide patents for both the device and measuring process, and has several other patents in process.

For more information, visit http://lightouchmedical.com.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • COVID-19 Update: Get Vaccinated! | Submit Proof of Vaccination | Testing Center Hours
    Friday, April 9, 2021, By News Staff
  • Stephen Kuusisto Receives 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry
    Friday, April 9, 2021, By Ellen de Graffenreid
  • Please Complete the Faculty/Staff COVID-19 Vaccine Status Attestation Questionnaire
    Friday, April 9, 2021, By News Staff
  • Alumnus and Trustee Marshall M. Gelfand ’50 Remembered
    Friday, April 9, 2021, By News Staff
  • Get Vaccinated | Activities for the Weekend of April 8-11 | Cautious Optimism
    Thursday, April 8, 2021, By News Staff

More In Uncategorized

“Why aren’t NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line?”

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, associate professor of food studies in Falk College, was interviewed for the Syracuse.com story “Why aren’t NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line?” Minkoff-Zern, an expert on the intersections of food and social justice, comments on the…

“Biden to broaden US-Mexican relations, keep immigration at top.”

Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history in the Maxwell School, was quoted in the Al Jazeera story “Biden to broaden US-Mexican relations, keep immigration at top.” McCormick, an expert on US-Mexico relations, believes that Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador…

“The long game: COVID changed the way we play, watch, cheer”

Dennis Deninger, professor of practice in Falk College and the Newhouse School, was quoted in the Associated Press story “The long game: COVID changed the way we play, watch, cheer.” Deninger, an expert on sports television and media, believes that…

“Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ratings: Oprah Interview Draws 17.1 Million Viewers.”

Robert Thompson, Trustee Professor of television, radio and film and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture in the Newhouse School, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal story “Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ratings: Oprah Interview…

“7 Women Scientists Who Defied the Odds and Changed Science Forever.”

Christa Kelleher, assistant profession of earth environmental science in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in the Newsweek article “7 Women Scientists Who Defied the Odds and Changed Science Forever.” Kelleher, an expert on hydrology, comments particularly on…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.