Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have secured an Indian patent for an affordable, painless continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device that promises to revolutionise diabetes management for over 10.1 crore Indians living with the condition. Developed by Professor Parasuraman Swaminathan’s Electronic Materials and Thin Films Lab, the modular system eliminates repeated finger pricks while addressing the high cost and smartphone dependency that make existing imported CGMs inaccessible to most patients.

The breakthrough device comprises a reusable electronic module with an integrated low-power display and a disposable microneedle patch that painlessly penetrates only 400-600 microns into the skin—far shallower than traditional needles—to sample interstitial fluid in real time. Accuracy matches international standards with a Mean Absolute Relative Difference (MARD) below 10%, validated through clinical trials at Madras Medical College involving 50 patients over 14 days. Unlike foreign systems costing ₹4,000-₹6,000 per 10-day sensor, the IIT-M prototype targets ₹1,500-₹2,000 per patch once commercialised, with the reusable reader priced under ₹5,000.

Professor Swaminathan described the innovation as “democratisation of precision healthcare”, emphasising that patients in rural Bihar or small-town Tamil Nadu should not need a ₹70,000 smartphone to see their glucose readings. MS scholar L. Balamurugan, who is spearheading commercialisation through IIT-M’s incubator, estimates the device could reduce diabetes-related hospital admissions by 30% by enabling tighter control and early intervention. The patch lasts 15 days, displays trends directly on an e-ink screen, and alerts users through gentle vibrations when levels breach custom thresholds.

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With technology transfer discussions underway with three Indian medtech firms and US FDA trials planned for 2026, the IIT-M CGM is poised to make India only the third country after the US and South Korea to develop indigenous microneedle-based continuous monitoring. As the nation grapples with diabetes exploding from 7.7 crore in 2017 to 10.1 crore in 2023 per ICMR data, this homegrown solution offers hope that painless, affordable monitoring can finally become a reality rather than a privilege.

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