Rockley Photonics Advances Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring

September 26, 2023 |

3 min read

Rockley Photonics continues to make rapid progress towards noninvasive glucose sensing using its proprietary silicon photonics platform.

Rockley has made rapid progress towards noninvasive optical measurement of glucose through benchtop and human studies.
Measurement of glucose in simulated skin samples with Rockley’s proprietary photonic IC (PIC) chip technology, in a benchtop system resulted in a prediction accuracy of 5mg/dL.
Rockley performed a rigorous human study involving 40 diabetic subjects over a 10-week period, which mitigated many common pitfalls of less advanced protocols.
Rockley demonstrated the capability of its SWIR (short-wave infrared) measurement technique, including the requisite radiant powers, wavelength range, and optical resolution that are critical to enabling non-invasive glucose sensing in a wearable form factor.

OXFORD, England & IRVINE, Calif. & PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rockley Photonics continues to make rapid progress towards noninvasive glucose sensing using its proprietary silicon photonics platform. The technology platform enables short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy to be translated to a miniaturized, wearable form factor capable of making noninvasive biomarker measurements in humans. Through a combination of benchtop sensor verification with both simulated human skin and during preliminary human studies, Rockley has engineered the SWIR platform to measure glucose.

Recent measurements performed using Rockley’s PIC technology in a benchtop version with a complex simulated tissue model showed that the technology is capable of measuring glucose with an accuracy of 5mg/dL. The results of an initial IRB-approved study involving 40 Type I and Type II diabetic subjects over a 10-week period also demonstrated significant progress towards the development of a noninvasive wearable glucose monitor. The study was conducted with attention to avoid spurious correlations and allowed for critical technology performance characteristics to be determined.

Mark A. Arnold, Ph.D. the Edwin B. Green Chair in Laser Chemistry, professor of chemistry and director of the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing (CBB) at the University of Iowa and leading contributor to Rockley’s scientific advisory board, spoke about the quality of the work at Rockley. “Rockley has been open with the details of their data and subsequent analysis and invited my critique of all aspects of their work. Rockley has assembled a world class team around the system design, quantitative algorithm development, and clinical experimental design.”

Speaking about the progress of the silicon photonics platform, Dr. Mark Arnold said, “Rockley has demonstrated that its technology can enable a sensor that has the requisite radiant powers, wavelength range, and optical resolution needed to make these difficult measurements in real-world products.”

Commenting on the capability of the novel sensing technology, Dr. Andrew Rickman, CEO and Chairman, spoke to the results of the studies and Rockley’s future implementation in wearables. “We are excited that our unique PIC technology is enabling us to noninvasively and accurately measure unique biomarkers in a very small form factor.” He continued, “The results confirm that Rockley’s integrated silicon photonic technology and novel processing of the SWIR signal offers a unique opportunity to realize the goal of a wearable, noninvasive glucose sensor for a host of medical applications.”

About Rockley Photonics

Rockley is a global leader in photonics-based health monitoring, invested in discovering new ways to measure important biometrics using novel sensing techniques. Rockley is developing a comprehensive range of photonic integrated circuits, sensors, and full-stack solutions. From next-generation biosensing platforms to mobile health monitoring, Rockley is laying the foundation for a new era of precision medicine.

Rockley believes that photonics will eventually become as pervasive as micro-electronics and has developed a platform with the power and flexibility needed to address the medical device and technology market through a wide variety of vertical applications.

The company has partnered with numerous tier-1 customers, spanning a range of industries to deliver the complex optical systems required to bring transformational products to life. Rockley is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is possible with photonics technology to create new solutions for a wide range of comprehensive monitoring applications, with an aim to revolutionize how people manage their health.