And now back to those tricky optical signatures. Just as some people are good at forging another's signature, some elements of the body are good at absorbing the wavelengths that normally identify glucose. This makes glucose levels difficult to measure. So does the amount of glucose actually present in the bloodstream. But in the last six years, because of the interest in noninvasive blood glucose monitoring, getting readings that are accurate to 1000th of a percentage point is now routine.
Calibration presents yet another difficulty.
Ideally, people would be able to use the noninvasive meter instantly, without going to the trouble of having the device calibrated or fitted to accommodate the uniqueness of any given finger. Futrex's Rosenthal says he wanted to avoid a situation in which people would have to go to calibration centers before they could use the device. Calibration is one of the reasons that both the Futrex and Rio Grande Medical meters are still in developmental stages. BioControl's Diasensor 1000, however, will not feature universal calibration. But thereafter, you'll be able to use it without the help of a health care professional.