[Determination of glucose levels by means of spectroscopy as a non-invasive method]

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most serious public health problems in Mexico. The most worrying factor is the lack of control of it, which has a direct impact, causing severe damage to the health and quality of life of the patient and its family, as well as an economic burden to the health system. The development of a non-invasive method for measuring blood glucose would provide to patients a simple and painless way of monitoring and consequently better control of diabetes.

To investigate, develop and validate a non-invasive sensor by means of spectroscopy for the estimation of the blood glucose level.

An analysis of a cross-sectional analytical correlation study was carried out in the facilities of the laboratory at the UMAE No. 1, Bajío. Voluntary adult patients who attended the laboratory of the UMAE to take serum glucose levels were included, and simultaneously the measurement was carried out through a non-invasive method by spectroscopy and, later, both results were compared to demonstrate the validity of the device.

By the Bland-Altman mean difference analysis, it was identified that only one patient had an extreme value, and that the method to measure glucose non-invasively overestimates up to 10.2% of the central glucose value.

Comparing these results with the standards for digital glucometers, it is concluded that our device is capable of providing accurate glucose levels.