Now, you can have pain free blood sugar test (NEWS)

Dubai, UAE: It won’t prick you any more. The non-evasive glucose monitoring device is finally here in the UAE.

Atlas Medical has launched a needle free, strip free glucose monitoring device, which will benefit millions of diabetes patients in the country and other Gulf nations.

The newly launched glucose monitor is named egm1000, which gives an option for pain-free testing of glucose.

“A lot of people were asking for this device and finally it’s here,” Jacob Tharakan, chief executive officer of Atlas Medical, said, at a Press conference held to introduce the new device.

The egm1000 enables the users to perform a virtually unlimited number of measurements, without pain and without incremental cost.

Tharakan said it is priced $2,300 (Dh8,448) and it’s available in the UAE, adding that “we will go and work with other Gulf countries soon.”

According to a recent study, 66 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women in the UAE are considered overweight or obese and as a result, as much as 19 per cent of the population suffers from Type 2 diabetes; this can be attributed to a sedentary lifestyle and bad food habits.

Last year, the UAE was home to one million diabetes patients, according to the International Diabetes Federation. As of now it is estimated that 13 per cent of the UAE population has diabetes.

Executive-Director of UK’s Evia Medical Technologies which developed the egm1000, said: “We are pleased to introduce the egm1000, which offers pain free monitoring of glucose levels. After short and simple calibration process, there is no test strips required, so there is no additional cost per measurement.”

At the workshop Prof Dr Andreas Pfützner, chief executive officer and medical director, PfütznerScience & Health Institute GmbH, Germany, discussed challenges and solutions in the development of non-invasive glucose monitoring device.

Dr Pfützner said measurement of blood glucose is still the most painful procedure in the daily routine of patients with type 2 diabetes.

He said that no one can expect that patients at risk of type 2 diabetes perform blood glucose measurements on a regular basis to detect disease manifestation or monitor their efforts to delay disease onset.

“The solution is a completely pain free and non-invasive device for monitoring of blood glucose on a frequent basis,” he added.

He said that the egm1000 is safe for use and performs according to the device’s intended use.

“The device can be a suitable solution for both patients and health care systems,” he added.

Established in 1975, Atlas Medical’s provides best of solutions by importing and distributing medical equipment, medical devices and instrumentations, pharmaceutical formulations, training and education to the UAE healthcare sector.