A team of researchers at the National Taiwan University Hospital and National Chiao-Tung University has developed a new optical technology that can hang on eyeglasses that, they say, may detect diabetic autonomic neuropathy at an earlier stage, when it is more easily treated. This condition, which progressively affects the autonomic nerves controlling the heart and gastrointestinal system, is common among people with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

The new technology is a small, wearable device called a pupillometer that weighs just 78 grams, designed to be worn for the duration of a doctor’s office visit, during which time it would monitor a person's pupils. By carefully measuring five parameters associated with the pupils, doctors may then be able to detect the earliest signs of diabetic autonomic neuropathy.

The pupillometer, which is small enough to be mounted onto the front of a pair of glasses, works by emitting four colored lights to stimulate the pupil. A beam splitter attached to the device then filters the visible light that is reflected from the eye to the device’s camera, which processes the images to analyze the pupil’s size. The device measures 10 parameters related to pupil diameter and response time, of which five were significant in people with this condition.

Detecting this asymptomatic condition early and treating it properly may lead to far better health outcomes. Currently the condition is often not detected until moderate nerve damage and organ dysfunction are present.

Source 

Topics:
Diagnostics Medical Patient Monitoring

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