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The 'e-Mosquito' is a wearable that sucks your blood … for your own good

When it comes to future mass-market wearable devices, an artificial blood-sucking device that’s permanently strapped to your wrist doesn’t sound like it has the makings of a “must-buy” product. But its initial sales pitch may be deceiving. In fact, a version of the so-called “e-Mosquito” could turn out to be the ultimate wearable for diabetes sufferers. And that takes its potential market from a few would-be vampire enthusiasts to the estimated 371 million people worldwide affected by the condition.

“The e-Mosquito is an unimposing, autonomous wearable device that can bite through the skin of a diabetic patient, [take a] capillary blood sample, analyze it for glucose, and report the result wirelessly to a smartphone, [the] internet, Health Watch, or the like,” Martin Mintchev, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Canada’s University of Calgary, told Digital Trends.

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The project started way back in 2007 with a prototype that was roughly the size of a deck of cards. It’s now evolved into a smaller, more watch-like device, boasting a shape memory alloy (SMA)-based actuator. This has allowed the team to shrink the device, while at the same time remaining able to produce a greater penetrative force into the skin — although we’re assured it doesn’t hurt any more than an actual mosquito nip.

The new device packs a battery, LED display, actuator, and other components, while a disposable cartridge carries a needle and test strip. It can be programmed to take a sample at prearranged times, meaning that the wearer doesn’t even have to stop and think about pricking their finger for a blood sample.

There’s still plenty of work to be done, particularly if the e-Mosquito can eventually expand its use-cases to include other tests, such as genetic testing or cancer screening, as Mintchev hopes it will. For now, though, the plan is to continue working on this prototype in a way that will eventually make it saleable.

“At the moment we are working on the glucose-sensing mechanism integration, with the hope to commercialize the device as soon as possible,” Mintchev said.

Between this work, Apple’s (possible) research on diabetes-managing devices, and other tech initiatives like the University Hospital of Montpellier, France’s artificial pancreas project, things could be looking up for diabetes sufferers.

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
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