3D Printing May Help Manage Type I Diabetes

Diabetes affects close to 400 million people around the world, and that number is rising. New research into the management of Type 1 diabetes out of Oregon State University seeks to reduce the costs and discomforts of currently available technologies. In a paper published in the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology and supported by the National Institutes of Health, titled "Fabrication of a Flexible Amperometric Glucose Sensor Using Additive Processes," researchers look into the possibility of bringing additive manufacturing techniques to work for an enhanced glucose sensor for Type 1 diabetics as part of an artificial pancreas system. OSU has filed a patent application for the technology, which will be commercialized by Pacific Diabetes Technologies. Electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing techniques are used to create the thin sensor using biomaterials on very thin plastic films. Find out more about this promising application of additive manufacturing in the full article: http://3dprint.com/51735/osu-diabetes-glucose-sensor/


Below is a look at gold films patterned on the substrate material:
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