Questions about the chemoelectrical process for finding out blood sugar levels

[barryk]

Hey Forum,

I’ve been researching the electrochemical process of calculating the blood glucose level from a very small blood sample. I think it is a five step process (I’m not some kind of professional materials engineer) as follows?
Step 1: Pick up the blood sample.
Step 2: Send the blood sample up capillaries or some route to an area where some chemical reaction occurs?
Step 3: Get the sample blood to react with something, is it called a reagent? This reaction is to thereby:
Step 4: Send a proportional electrical pulse into the:
Step 5: Electronic circuitry for calculating the blood glucose level (in mol/L) based on the proportional electrical force that comes through it.

My questions, since one-time blood glucose test strips cost money and consume valuable source materials in this environment conscious world, are:
Q1) Is it possible to use some kind of micro pump to suck out the sample blood, thereby cleaning it out to make room for new blood samples?
Q2) Is it possible to make the sampling device bigger than a 0.5cm X 2cm test strip? Or several times bigger? To make it easier to clean out the sample blood? The alternative sampling device may be reusable for a long time.
Q3) Is it possible to clean out the chemical reaction part and insert the new reacting chemical (called the reagent/reactant?) into it? Or reuse the reacting chemical?

Thanks in advance for advice on this.

[piroska]

A droplet of blood is placed at the end of the glucose test strip. The glucose in the blood will then react with an enzyme that's found in the glucose test strip called glucose oxidase.

This reaction produces a different chemical called gluconic acid. Based on the level of gluconic acid produced, an electrical current will be triggered and sent from the test strip into the glucose meter. The more glucose in the blood, the more gluconic acid, the bigger the electrical current produced.

Then, the glucose meter is able to "read" this electrical current differential in the test strip and figure out the measurement of glucose in the blood.
home blood glucose meters measure the glucose in whole blood while most lab tests measure the glucose in plasma.

In 2006, the consumer cost of each glucose strip ranged from about $0.35 to $1.00. (Wiki) Manufacturers often provide meters at no cost to induce use of the profitable test strips.

However in NZ we don't pay for the meter, the test strips or anything else.
Re-using something is unhygienic and would impact accuracy.

Why are you worried about it? It sure beats the old system of testing urine, that was always miles out of date when you did it.

[decibel]

You are not the first person to have this idea -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos

[WalOne]

Piroska ... Please acknowledge your source rather than copy then post as if it's your own!

Here's where you copied it from:

https://www.saveritemedical.com/blog...st-strips-work

[piroska]

Piroska ... Please acknowledge your source rather than copy then post as if it's your own!

Why?
If you care, you can find it, as you did........I don't know why people don't google first anyway
And actually most of it was from wiki, which is what I use the most.