NPL mulls low-cost glucose monitor

Nicholas Piramal India is planning to bring out a new, low-cost medical device to measure critical parameters in people with high blood sugar. The new device, which would be convenient for doctors to measure blood pressure, blood sugar and related data, could be used without the patient knowledge at that moment even though the data would be available with them for reference.

Since the ethical device will work without the patient’s direct knowledge, it would be able to get an accurate reading of the patient’s vital signs. Doctors say that many patients actually get heightened symptoms such as increased heartbeat and blood pressure by the mere presence of a medical environment, interfering with the diagnosis. This is known as the “white coat” effect.

The new device is expected to cost significantly less than the available medical devices in that category. Conventional blood glucose monitors cost between Rs 2,000-4,000 and may need pin pricks to draw blood.

“Considerable effort is needed to prevent and reduce the increasingly large burden of hypertension in India,” Dr. Swati Piramal, director, NPIL said at a press conference launching Resperate.