Dr Samet Sahin from the School of Engineering has received £406,000 funding to develop a simple tool to allow healthcare professionals to quickly and easily check an individual's C-peptide levels. This is a measure of how much insulin they are making and releasing. Dr Sahin is part of an engineering research group at Lancaster University applying their knowledge in engineering to tackle this problem in type 1 diabetes (T1D).
In the body, beta cells release a molecule called C-peptide with insulin in equal amounts. C-peptide stays in the body longer than insulin before it breaks down and is used to calculate how much insulin these beta cells are releasing. This measurement can be used to understand how many functioning beta cells a person with T1D still has, which is important in the approach to their care.
In this project, funded by Breakthrough T1D, Dr. Sahin's group will aim to develop an improved tool compared to those currently available. C-peptide is measured using a blood test, which is then sent to a lab for analysis. This time-consuming and expensive process makes it impractical for healthcare professionals and their patients.
Dr Sahin's group is tackling this issue by developing a tool for healthcare professionals to quickly, easily, and reliably measure an individual's C-peptide levels. The approach is to make an electrochemical sensor that uses a sophisticated combination of chemistry and electricity to detect C-peptide levels in blood samples. The sensor would enable patients to do a simple finger prick test at their GP or in a diabetes clinic.
The sensor would then use this to measure C-peptide in minutes without requiring lab tests. This revolutionary sensor promises a significant reduction in time and practicality compared to current methods.
Measuring beta cell function is crucial to understanding how an individual's T1D progresses. Quickly and easily assessing someone's beta cell function will help clinicians monitor people in the early stages of T1D to ensure they start insulin therapy at the right time. This timely care would additionally help to avoid the consequences of a late diagnosis in diabetic ketoacidosis where harmful ketones build up in the body. The sensors could also measure how well new therapies are working to delay the onset of T1D in clinical trials, unlocking the potential for personalised care in T1D treatment.
Dr Samet Sahin said "I am very happy for this opportunity to work with Breakthrough T1D on this project. Our goal is to develop a simple and rapid tool that provides healthcare professionals with real-time insights into a patient's insulin production. We aim to make C-peptide testing more accessible, cost-effective, and practical in clinical settings by utilising electrochemical sensing technology. This new tool could enhance diabetes management by enabling earlier and more personalised interventions, ultimately improving patient care."
Rachel Connor, Director of Research Partnerships at Breakthrough T1D UK, said: "Dr Sahin's research focusses on an important unmet need for people in the early stages of type 1 diabetes. We're excited at the prospect of having a quick finger prick test that would give critical information on how type 1 diabetes is developing: this would be transformative in guiding healthcare professionals in providing timely and appropriate treatments. The technology would also enable researchers to determine more quickly and easily if treatments designed to delay the onset of type 1 diabetes are working well in clinical trials, and so speed up the progress of effective treatments to routine use in clinical care."
