Pacifier Developed To Read Blood Sugar Level For Babies With Type I Diabetes

BOSTON (CBS) -- Babies with type one diabetes often have to be stuck several times a day to check their blood sugar, but scientists have developed a novel and less painful way to do just that -- with a pacifier.

Monitoring the blood sugar of babies and young children with type one diabetes can be painful. And while wearable non-invasive biosensors are all the rage, they're often too bulky or uncomfortable to be used on the tiniest of patients.

But researchers at the University of California, San Diego have designed a pacifier that can track real-time glucose levels from saliva as a baby naturally sucks on the nipple. That data can then be sent to a cell phone app.

The pacifier hasn't been tested on babies yet but initial tests with adult type one diabetes patients have been promising.