The National Science Foundation awarded a multidisciplinary team of researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis $738,000 to develop a blood sugar warning device for diabetic patients.

Researchers will use the three-year grant to develop a breathalyzer-type device to detect the onset of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar episodes, in people with diabetes.

"Existing technology tracks current blood sugar levels, but it doesn't alert the patient to an upcoming hypoglycemic episode," Kody Varahramyan, principal investigator of the study and senior aide to the chancellor and professor of electrical and computer engineering, said in a statement.

Hypoglycemia can be dangerous if it remains undetected. Children and the elderly with Type 1 diabetes are especially prone to sudden drops in blood sugar.

The grant will fund research to identify the signature odorants that are produced in human breath by specific volatile organic compounds created by the metabolic processes that lead to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, develop a nanosensor array to detect those odorants, and incorporate the nanosensor array into a portable smart device that transmits health information to the diabetic, caregivers and family members.

"Researchers will identify the signature odorants, which are unknown to the medical community, using breath samples collected from patients," said Mangilal Agarwal, a co-principal investigator.

The odorants will be verified with diabetes alert dogs that recognize the onset of hypoglycemia from those odorants. Patients would blow into the small device, whose sensor system would then communicate the patient's hypoglycemic status, along with tracking information that provides a historical summary.

The research is expected to improve health-monitoring options for people with diabetes, decrease health care costs and improve lifestyles for diabetics.