Seoul-based medical technology startup Apollon Inc. will collaborate with MIT’s Laser Biomedical Research Center (LBRC) to develop and conduct clinical trials of noninvasive continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) using Raman spectroscopy. Though attempts to develop noninvasive CGMs have been ongoing since the early 2000s, none have yet achieved Food and Drug Administration approval.

The trials are set to span the next two years. Peter Soto, who is director of the MIT LBRC, and MIT’s Jeon Woong Kang and Apollon’s Youngkyu Kim will lead the effort. Kang, in previous research, demonstrated direct measurements of glucose concentration without drawing blood by irradiating the skin of pig test subjects with laser light. The peer-reviewed and published work revealed that the preclinical error rate was 6.6%, exceeding the performance of existing CGM products. This collaborative research is the first attempt to apply these findings to the human body and aims to make the device small enough to be attached to the body, according to the collaborators.

Based on the clinical results, Apollon plans to complete FDA approval and commercialization within five years.