Could our eyes hold the key to pain-free glucose monitoring?

Daniele De Iuliis

Design Director, Occuity

Headshot taken by Michal Venera

A simple scan of the eye could hold the answer to pain-free and non-invasive glucose testing.

With the number of people living with type 2 diabetes increasing each year, former Apple industrial designer Daniele De Iuliis suggests that a ‘pain-free, 21st-century solution’ to glucose testing is ‘long overdue’ and has his sights set on using the eye to help deliver it.

The eye: a window to your health?

After 27 years working in Apple’s industrial design team, De Iuliis became a founding investor in Occuity, a Reading-based startup developing an optical device to non-invasively measure glucose levels via the eye. The device will work by safely shining a light into the eye to measure subtle changes and determine glucose levels within the aqueous humour, which has been demonstrated to closely match glucose in the bloodstream.

De Iuliis describes the concept of the ‘Occuity Indigo’ as a pen-like device that is both easy to carry and use, highlighting that it will need no consumables and can be used without the stigma associated with current finger stick devices. “Having witnessed existing finger stick testing first hand, the idea that you can easily take a pain-free glucose measurement from yourself or a loved one — young or old — is most definitely a game-changer,” says De Iuliis.

The team behind the device is building a community of people who share an interest in diabetes.

Community support

The team behind the device is building a community of people who share an interest in diabetes. Already over 8,000 strong, the community is given the opportunity to share their views on the technology and design. They will also be able to support its development through surveys, clinical trials, product testing and even buying shares in the company through its Seedrs crowdfunding campaign.

As De Iuliis concludes: “Diabetes is a very personal condition, and of course, once you have it, it’s likely with you for the rest of your life. We know people want a non-invasive solution, and we thought giving those same people the opportunity to become shareholders in our business is a great way to enable them in joining us on this journey to try to improve their lives and millions more across the globe.”