New funding from the European Innovation Council has been awarded to a Welsh diabetes technology company to “fast track” their focus on the future of blood glucose monitoring to benefit people around the world with diabetes.
Read more here.
Non-invasive and real time blood glucose monitoring is the holy grail of diabetes. Afon Technology’s ground-breaking solution is a sensor which sits on the underside of the wrist and uses low power rf/microwave technology to track and record changes in blood glucose, in real time. It feeds back to a companion app on a smart device.
Afon Technology intends the first product release to be an indicator device which alerts the user when their blood glucose drifts into the hyperglycaemic or hypoglycaemic zones, affording better self-management for people with diabetes.
This device will also provide important trend data to a clinician who will use it to determine the ‘Time in Range’ of the wearer. Time in Range is an important measure of the person’s ability to control their blood glucose and maintain it within the normal zone. This will enable the clinician to better understand blood glucose behaviour over time, thereby enabling a more appropriate treatment.
Why do we need the Afon device?
The current ‘best option’ for a person with diabetes is a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). These are minimally invasive, with a microneedle recording blood glucose from the interstitial fluid. These have improved clinical management by providing continuous data and have improved self-management and user experience. However they are known to have a time lag from actual blood glucose change and they require replacing every 10-14 days. Our device will have no disposable or replaceable parts.
As well as being life changing for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes, we expect our device to be useful to sports people and anyone interested in health and nutrition.
The Afon Blood Glucose Sensor has undergone three rounds of testing at Profil, the world renowned diabetes research centre in Germany. Over the next year we will undertake a multi-phase trial of our disruptive technology at the Joint Clinical Research Facility (JCRF) at Swansea University. Other multi-site trials are also planned in 2023 ahead of commercialising our device in 2024.
RCD No: 008213961-0001
Diabetes is recognised as a global epidemic, at the epicentre of a worldwide healthcare crisis. There are 537 million adults living with diabetes worldwide and almost half are undiagnosed. The International Diabetes Federation predicts there to be 783 million diabetics by 2045 (IDF Diabetes Atlas, 10th Edition, 2021). There is currently no cure for diabetes.
Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in a sufferer’s blood is too high because their body cannot use it properly. This is because their pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin, or not enough insulin to help glucose enter the body’s cells – or the insulin does not work properly (known as insulin resistance).
There are two main types of diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2. Both types are serious, lifelong conditions with devastating complications.
For more information on diabetes and how to best manage it contact your national diabetes charity Diabetes UK.
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CBE, DSc, BA, FCA, ACT, CCBIM
PhD, FMedSci, DVMS(hon), FRSA, FRSE
BSc (Hons), PhD
BSc (Hons), PhD
CEO
BEd, MAAL, PhD
QUALITY, REGULATORY AND CLINICAL TRIALS MANAGER,
MANAGEMENT REPRESENTATIVE, PRRC, AND RISK COORDINATOR
PhD in Electronic Engineering
RF/Microwave Engineer
BE, MScPM
Software Engineer
BSc (Hons), MBA
Office Manager
BSc (Hons)
Office Manager
Project Coordinator, Data Analyst & Clinical Trials Administrator
Bsc (Hons), FIAB
Finance Assistant
Office Location
Unit 670 Castlegate Business Park
Caldicot
Monmouthshire
NP26 5AD
Phone: 01291 442 100
Email: info@afontechnology.com
