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The National Science Foundation has awarded a nearly half-million dollar grant to startup Newton Photonics Inc. to create a non-invasive optical sensor capable of continuously monitoring a patient’s glucose levels.
The NSF made the $480,000 Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award on Nov. 3, explained the Newton-based company’s co-founder Shmuel Halevi. The firm specializes in making biophotonic sensors. The NSF cash will fund the company’s effort to create the glucose-monitoring instrument using proprietary Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) technology.
Currently, no company has released to market a glucose monitor using OCT. Existing technologies from larger companies require the patient’s skin to be broken. “So far, there’s been a lot of talk, but there’s still no instrument like this in the market,” said Halevi. “The market is there waiting for it.”
However, Halevi noted that at least one other startup, GlucoLight Corp. of Bethlehem, Pa., is developing a similar product. He said Newton Photonics’ technology enables prolonged monitoring and eliminates the need for frequent calibration.
The instrument will be deployed first for glycemic controls in hospital intensive care units, he said. Eventually, diabetic patients at home will be able to use it to monitor their own condition. While the grant called for clinical trials in about 18 months, Halevi said he hopes to beat that deadline.
Privately held Newton Photonics was founded in 2001 and has been funded primarily by U.S. government grants, but the company is now considering investors, said Halevi. “We want potential investors to know of us,” he said.
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