JPH0231740A - Apparatus for measuring blood sugar level - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To continuously measure a blood sugar level using a very small amount of an exudate by mounting the valve arranged on the vacuum suction route of the exudate and a storage chamber in which a definite amount of the exudate is taken by the opening and closing operation of the valve. CONSTITUTION:A valve 6 is set so that the first passing hole 7a is positioned in an up-and-down direction and the exudate sucked by a vacuum pump to be issued to the surface of the skin fills the first passing hole 7a. Next, when the valve 6 is revolved by 45 deg. to allow a pipe 8 for an air pump and the pipe 5 for the vacuum pump to communicate with each other by the second passing hole 7b, the excessive exudate remaining in the upper part of the first passing hole 7a can be removed. Further, the valve is revolved to a horizontal position and the exudate 10 in the first passing hole 7a is pushed out by the air sent from the air pump pipe 8 and a definite amount of a specimen is taken out to the outside by a take-out pipe 9. The exudate obtained by sucking the skin from which a horny layer is removed under vacuum is always very little in quantity and low in oxygen concentration but a very small amount of the exudate 10 can be quantitatively taken out with good accuracy.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a blood sugar level measuring device for measuring blood sugar levels in the human body, and in particular, the present invention relates to a blood sugar level measuring device for measuring blood sugar levels in the human body. Blood sugar level measuring device (:, related, (prior art)) Conventionally, blood sugar levels have been measured by collecting blood and measuring it with a blood sugar needle. In this method, it was necessary to collect blood each time a measurement was performed, and the amount of blood required for one measurement was large, causing pain and exhaustion to the person being measured. A method of measuring blood sugar levels by inserting a sensor has also been attempted. 19
(published in 1987, p. 71), but there are problems with the stability of the sensor and its compatibility with living organisms, making it difficult to put it into practical use right away.

On the other hand, in recent years, it has been discovered through animal experiments that an exudate can be obtained by suctioning the exfoliated skin under reduced pressure, and that this exudate contains glucose at approximately the same concentration as blood (Seiji Ito, Jun Kimura, Toshihide Kuriyama, Makoto Kikuchi, Tsunenori Arai, Naoki Negishi, Hata Tomita, Midori Chigira, Proceedings of the 6th Chemical Sensor Research Conference J, 1987, p. 81).

Furthermore, the present inventors have discovered that exudate is similarly obtained in the human body, and that this exudate contains glucose at a concentration comparable to that of blood.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the amount of exudate obtained by vacuum suction varies from person to person, but is approximately 0.05μ per minute per I Cm2.
! It was difficult to continuously measure blood sugar levels using conventional m-glucometers. Furthermore, the oxygen concentration in the leachate is low because 1 q of the leachate is taken under reduced pressure, and in a glucose sensor using normal glucose oxidizer 12 (GOD), oxygen is also used as a substrate in the enzyme reaction, as shown in the reaction formula below. Therefore, when the oxygen concentration is low, the enzymatic reaction is limited by oxygen, making accurate measurement impossible.

Gluconolactone 1202 The present invention was created in view of these problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a blood sugar level measuring device that can measure glucose concentration using a small amount of exudate and realizes continuous monitoring of blood sugar levels.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a method for absorbing a certain amount of exudate by suctioning the skin from which the stratum corneum has been removed under reduced pressure. After diluting with eL-cell-containing liquid, a blood glucose level measuring device is used to measure the glucose concentration, and a certain amount of exudate is taken in by opening and closing a valve installed on the decompression suction path of the exudate. This blood glucose level measuring device is characterized in that it is equipped with a storage chamber in which the blood glucose level can be measured.

The storage chamber may be provided outside the valve or inside the valve, and is not limited as long as it is a space into which a certain amount of exudate can be taken in by opening and closing the valve. for example,
A hole in a valve connected to a suction path for the exudate may be used as a storage chamber.

[Function] According to the present invention, the device measures the blood sugar level using the exudate obtained by suctioning the skin from which the stratum corneum has been removed under reduced pressure, and the blood sugar level is measured on the exudate vacuum suction path, that is, inside the suction cell. Alternatively, a valve is provided between the absorption cell and the vacuum pump, and a certain amount of leachate is taken out using a storage chamber in the gap inside the valve or a gap in the pipe connected to the valve, and this certain amount of leachate is oxygenated. After diluting with a solution containing
A blood sugar level measuring device that measures glucose concentration using a glucose sensor is obtained.

In the blood glucose level measuring device of the present invention, the exudate collected by the suction cell is guided to the valve and fills the storage chambers inside and outside the valve. For example, the amount of exudate that enters the through hole provided in the movable part within the valve is always constant. Therefore, by taking out this leachate and diluting it with a certain amount of diluent, a certain amount of sample necessary for measurement can be prepared. Generally, the leachate has a low oxygen concentration because it is taken out under reduced pressure, but by using a diluted solution with a sufficiently high oxygen concentration, a sample with the required oxygen concentration can be prepared. Therefore, the blood sugar level measuring device according to the present invention is capable of continuously and accurately measuring blood sugar levels without sampling blood.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the surface of the skin 1 from which the stratum corneum has been removed, a suction cell 3 with a mesh 2 provided inside is fixed with double-sided adhesive tape 4, and a vacuum pump tube 5
Skin Ii by vacuum pump through! 1 to about 400mm
By suctioning under the reduced pressure of tl(], exudate oozes out from the surface of the skin 1. This exudate is led to the first through hole 7a provided in the valve 6. In the figure, 8 indicates the exudate into the suction cell 3. 9 is a tube for an air pump that sends air to be extracted from the sample, and 9 is a sample extraction circular tube that serves as an outlet for the exudate.

Further, 7b is a second through hole for removing excess exudate and letting air flow.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating procedure of the above embodiment.

Below, a procedure for collecting exudate using the device of the example will be shown. In FIG. 2, only the exudate 10 is hatched for clarity. First, in FIG. 2(a), the valve is positioned such that the tenth through hole 7a is in the vertical direction, and the exudate that comes out to the skin surface due to suction by the vacuum pump is directed to the first through hole. Fulfill 7a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the pulp is rotated by 45 degrees, and the air pump tube 8 and the vacuum pump tube 5 are brought into communication with each other through the second through hole 7b. Thereby, excess exudate remaining in the upper part of the first through hole 7a can be removed.

Furthermore, the pulp is rotated to the horizontal position shown in FIG. 2(C), and the exudate 10 in the first through hole 7a is pushed out by the air sent from the air pump tube 8, and a fixed amount of sample is taken out. Take it out from the circular tube 9.

The exudate obtained by suctioning under reduced pressure the skin from which the stratum corneum has been removed is very small and has a low oxygen concentration, but the blood sugar level measuring device of this example quantifies and extracts the minute amount of exudate 10 with good precision. Therefore, a sample that can be easily measured can be obtained by adding a certain amount of diluent. Furthermore, by making the oxygen concentration of the diluted solution sufficiently high, the enzyme reaction depends on the degree of oxygen tA. It is no longer subject to restrictions and enables highly accurate measurements.

For example, in an experiment using a suction cell with an inner diameter of 3 cm, approximately 0.5 μ2 of exudate was collected per minute, and the first through hole 7
By setting the container a to 5 μβ, exudate could be collected approximately every 10 minutes. In addition, by using a buffer solution sufficiently bubbled in air as the diluent, it is possible to achieve a dilution rate of 500/I! without being affected by oxygen concentration. Glucose concentrations up to g/dβ could be measured.

Curve 1 in FIG. 3 is the result of a glucose tolerance test using the aspirated exudate according to the present invention, and curve 2 connects the blood glucose levels (black dots) measured by simultaneously collecting blood. One hour after the start of the measurement, 75 g of glucose was ingested.

As can be seen from the figure, when measuring using suction exudate, there is a time delay of about 15 minutes compared to measuring using blood.
A very good correlation was obtained.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a blood sugar level measuring device that can measure glucose concentration using a small amount of exudate and realizes continuous monitoring of blood sugar level.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating procedure of the embodiment, and Fig. 3 shows continuous measurement data of blood glucose level using the blood glucose level measuring device according to the present invention. It is a diagram. 1... Skin 3... Suction cell 5... Vacuum pump tube 7a... First through hole 8... Air pump tube 10... Exudate 2... Mesh 4... Double-sided adhesive tape 6...Pulp 7b...Second through hole 9...Sample extraction circular tube

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A blood glucose level measuring device that measures the glucose concentration after diluting a certain amount of exudate obtained by suctioning the skin from which the stratum corneum has been removed under reduced pressure with an oxygen-containing liquid, and is located on the exudate suction path under reduced pressure. 1. A blood glucose level measuring device comprising: a valve disposed in the valve; and a storage chamber into which a certain amount of exudate is taken in by opening and closing the valve.