No more finger pricking.
This year’s U.S. national James Dyson Award winner, Thipok (Poom) Cholsaipant, invented the world’s first breath glucometer for people living with prediabetes. AeroLyze simplifies the testing process and eliminates the invasive, painful and outdated finger-pricking testing method.
The smartphone- and smartwatch-pairing glucometer will allow those living with prediabetes to test and monitor their glucose levels with one breath.
Poom grew up in a family who found immense value in uncovering solutions to everyday problems. One problem existed within his family that millions of Americans battle today: Type 2 diabetes.
On a mission to find a modern alternative to the painful finger-pricking testing process, Poom invented a smartphone- and smartwatch-pairing breath glucometer for people living with prediabetes. Poom wants AeroLyze to evolve and be useful for all people living with diabetes, but he began with people living with prediabetes because this glucometer focuses on making testing simpler to help prevent the disease at an earlier stage.
AeroLyze is unlike any other glucometer because it focuses on the experience of the user. It uses a rating scale interface instead of a digital reading to reduce anxiety and misinterpretation around fluctuating blood glucose levels.
“The current process for measuring blood sugar levels is a long, painful ritual for just a mere glimpse at a three-digit number,” Poom said. “I believe humans are built from experiences, not just numbers.”
Poom’s invention ranked first among 150 U.S. entries—a record-breaking year for the competition.
Winning the national portion of the James Dyson Award earned him $2,500. With the prize money, he plans to finalize his prototype, patent AeroLyze and advance the tool’s machine learning to form predictions based on users’ habits to alert them when they might be reaching dangerous glucose levels.
