Recently, the team of Associate Professor Yang Jian of University of South China and Professor Jiang Lelun/Yi Changqing of Sun Yat-sen University and Professor Hossam Haick of Israel Institute of Technology developed a A continuous drug/biomarker monitoring system (MCBM system) based on microneedle technology aims to achieve real-time minimally invasive monitoring of glucose and metformin concentrations in interstitial fluid of diabetic patients. Relevant research results were published in Nature Communications. Associate Professor Yang Jian from School of Electrical Engineering, University of South China, Dr. Gong Xia from Wolfson School of Chemical Engineering, Israel Institute of Technology, and Dr. Zheng Ying from School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University are the co-first authors of the paper. Professor Jiang Lelun/Professor Yi Changqing of Sun Yat-sen University and Professor Hossam Haick of Israel Institute of Technology are the co-corresponding authors of the paper.
It is understood that diabetes affects more than 500 million people worldwide, and the treatment and management of diabetes has become a major challenge in the global medical and health field. However, current monitoring technologies-especially for the monitoring of therapeutic drug levels-mostly remain invasive and static monitoring methods, and are severely out of touch with real-time physiological changes. Most treatment options adopt a "one size fits all" approach, ignoring individual differences in drug absorption, metabolism and response, which can easily lead patients to face poor treatment results or cause toxic side effects (such as hypoglycemia or lactic acidosis). Traditional diabetes diagnosis, treatment and management, quantitative administration and intermittent blood glucose monitoring methods can no longer meet the needs of personalized treatment, especially in real-time monitoring of blood glucose and drug concentration. This new technology developed by Associate Professor Yang Jian's team directly responds to this unmet need, providing a dynamic and personalized real-time monitoring window for disease status and drug performance. The system combines dual-sensor microneedles and smartphone APPs to transmit data to mobile phones in real time through wireless transmission, providing accurate pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) assessments, and helping doctors adjust drug doses based on patient real-time data, so as to achieve personalized treatment. In vivo experiments have verified the advantages of the system in monitoring accuracy, biocompatibility and safety, providing a new solution for precision treatment and personalized medicine of diabetes.
Dr. Yang Jian is a young teacher introduced to the School of Electrical Engineering of USC in 2023 driven by the policy of strengthening the school with talents. He is currently the director of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and an associate professor hired by the school. He is mainly engaged in the research of intelligent diagnosis and treatment medical devices and systems. So far, Associate Professor Yang Jian has presided over three youth projects and industrial transformation projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and serves as the youth editorial board member of internationally renowned journals such as IMED J ANAL TEST VIEW. Published more than 20 SCI indexed papers. As the project leader, he led the research and development of the core key technologies of wearable glucose monitors (CGM) and transformed the results into listed companies. He has cooperated in the development of the first-generation prototype CGM products, forming a number of new products, new technologies, New materials and other innovative achievements.
Paper link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61549-9.
