META Completes UK-Funded Project towards Developing Non-Invasive Glucose Sensing System

July 06, 2021 at 07:30 AM EDT

"Home Hub" System Uses Multiwavelength Biosensing to Improve Accuracy

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2021 / Meta Materials Inc. (the "Company" or "META®") (NASDAQ:MMAT) a developer of high-performance functional materials and nanocomposites, today announced the conclusion of a 27-month long project to develop a non-invasive glucose sensing prototype, which combined radio wave and optical sensors to improve accuracy in predicting glucose level changes. The developed biosensing prototype is a critical step towards a "Home Hub" system targeted at monitoring biological parameters. The project was supported with about £911K (US$1.25M) from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. This collaborative effort took place in the UK and involved four partners: META (via its wholly owned UK subsidiary, Medical Wireless Sensing Ltd.), The Imagination Factory, Virtual Clinic Direct, and Brunel Innovation Centre.

META's glucoWISE® Point-of-Care "Home Hub" Product Concept

During the project, several prototypes of the system were developed, designed for use by diabetes patients in point of care settings such as homes and clinics. The system consists of a "Home Hub" along with a wearable element for overnight trend monitoring. It uses multiwavelength biosensing technology, which combines optical and radio wave sensors along with machine learning processing. The project demonstrated in a laboratory environment that the system improves the accuracy in predicting glucose level changes, compared to using standalone sensors. Preliminary results of the project, using an early prototype system, were published in the journal Sensors (https://doi.org/10.3390/s21093275), which may also be found on META's website under Applications / Medical Applications. The novel multiwavelength biosensing technology is protected with two patent applications filed in 2021 and extends the previous research work on this topic resulting in a total of 5 patent families, comprising 11 international patents (4 granted, 7 pending).

"Accurately measuring glucose without drawing blood must overcome a number of challenges, including the weak signature of the glucose molecule compared to other tissue components and water, the signal interference from other biological substances, calibrating for the effects of environmental factors such as ambient temperature and skin moisture," said Themos Kallos, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of META. "In this work, we have demonstrated that combining optical and radio wave sensors with data processing using artificial intelligence improves accuracy compared to standalone sensors. We are continuing development of this system, seeking new strategic partners, and planning to conduct pre-clinical human studies scheduled to start this summer."

"Virtual Clinic Direct Ltd. was able apply its expertise in IoT/medical device hardware, firmware, and software to the META non-invasive glucose monitoring technology. This innovation project has been extremely rewarding given its potential social value and the caliber of the partners we have worked with," said James Stevenson, Director at Virtual Clinic Direct.

"META's non-invasive glucose monitoring technology presented a unique opportunity for The Imagination Factory to design a home health hub style device that can be used at home without looking or feeling like a piece of hospital equipment. The design research interviews that we carried out at the start of the project reminded our design team of the need for products that enable people with diabetes to take glucose readings with comfort and discretion," noted Mark Hester, Co-Founder and Technology Director at The Imagination Factory.

META's glucoWISE® "Home Hub" Product Concept with Wearable Element

"This successful research project led by META, to develop a non-invasive blood monitoring device, was a great and unique opportunity for Brunel University London to apply its modern signal acquisition and processing techniques, with advanced AI algorithms in the healthcare field. Brunel University London took care of the hardware and software developments for data acquisition in the infrared band, as well as of Artificial Intelligence algorithms that allow data fusion and prediction of glucose concentration," said Jamil Kanfoud, Head of Brunel Innovation Centre.

To measure glucose non-invasively, glucoWISE® transmits signals through the web of skin between the thumb and forefinger. During previous published human studies, wearable metamaterial films have been demonstrated to help boost these signals by up to 240%, significantly enhancing the accuracy of the system. The team aims to continue the development and is in discussions with strategic partners who can accelerate the commercialization. The Company also envisions glucoWISE® technology built into a variety of form factors such as a discrete, pocket-sized, portable device, which will be paired with a smartphone App and cloud-based software support. META's core wearable metamaterial signal boosting technology can be applied to MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and brain medical imaging as well as other medical sensing applications. To see a concept animation of the META glucoWISE® Home Hub system, please refer to the META website under Applications / Medical Applications / Non-Invasive Glucose Monitoring.

About Meta Materials Inc.

META® delivers previously unachievable performance, across a range of applications, by inventing, designing, developing, and manufacturing sustainable, highly functional materials. Our extensive technology platform enables leading global brands to deliver breakthrough products to their customers in consumer electronics, 5G communications, health and wellness, aerospace, automotive, and clean energy. Our achievements have been widely recognized, including being named a Global Cleantech 100 company. Learn more at www.metamaterial.com.

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