Medtrum, a technology company, has launched a closed loop device that has the capability to continuously monitor glucose levels inside the body. This high-tech product is set to hit the European market on Feb 1, according to a news report published on the Pudong website.

The continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices are mostly used by diabetic patients. They are suitable for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and provide insight on the glucose levels of patients throughout the day. CGM allows for better glucose control and can therefore help to improve the health and quality of life for patients that use them.

A chip shaped like a "tiny, flexible, hair-like sensor" is inserted into the body and is designed to last for at least 7 days. It takes glucose readings every two minutes, providing 720 readings per day. It also holds a huge capacity of memory as it can store 15 days' worth of data, so it can "catch up" on any lost data if a wireless connection is lost.

In addition, smartphone integration makes it even easier for diabetes management and cloud-based data storage form the key features of this high-tech CGM device. This technological development has brought on a drastic optimization of CGM systems.

CGM devices give users a complete picture of their glucose trends in a simple graph and they also offer customizable alerts to indicate any fluctuations in glucose status.

Furthermore, the closed-loop has a feature named the Predictive Low Glucose Suspend, which makes it able to detect symptoms of hypoglycemia in advance. After detection, the device then stops insulin delivery so that it can prevent hypoglycemia from occurring in the first place.

Medtrum aims to develop and commercialize its innovative products to improve the lives of more people afflicted with diabetes. The headquarters of the company is in China and business expanded into the UK in June 2016 with the company also setting up an office for its overseas business. In the future, it will promote its products to a greater number of European countries.

Medtrum owns a number of patents that were granted for its products in June 2016 – including for the disposable tubeless fluid delivery system and biosensor system, as well as a single needle artificial pancreas that uses a coating on the outside of the fluid delivery cannula to reduce the number of insertions needed.

The device for continuously monitoring glucose levels inside the body. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]