A team of researchers has developed a pacifier-based biosensor that tracks real-time glucose levels in saliva, in a move that could make it easier to diagnose diabetes in babies.

The team modified a commercial pacifier – or dummy – to allow the saliva to pass easily from the infant’s mouth to the sensor.

The saliva is transported by a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tube placed inside the nipple of the object, connecting the tip to the back of the dummy where the sensor is located.

To ensure it could work effectively, by maintaining a constant flow, the mechanism design was inspired by Pasteur pipette and by the pendant drop tensiometry method

The team said in its study that an important distinction between the proposed design and the Pasteur pipette is the fact that while for the pipette, the fluid enters and leaves the pipette interior by the same orifice, the pacifier device requires the flow to enter by one side and leaves the device on the other end.

You can read the full study here.