Towards a better life for diabetic patients: developing and integrating a non-invasive self-management support tool within a smart digital companion

This paper focuses on the design and development of a non-invasive smart and pervasive mobile solution to measure blood glucose without the need for drawing blood or pricking fingers. Specifically, it examines the possibility of sensors using Terahertz (THz) technology to measure blood glucose. This paper reports on a research in progress looking at identifying and then designing superior strategies for measuring blood glucose. It presents the central role that measuring blood glucose plays in diabetes care management. It then highlights the current methods and problems and concerns with finger pricking. From there, the paper proffers a non-invasive solution using THz technology to measure blood glucose and outlines the approach to design and develop such a solution using a decision science methodology. Finally, the paper reports our current vision and progress in developing and integrating the proposed non-invasive solution with a digital companion to provide personalised assistance to the diabetic patient.