NORCROSS, Ga., Sept. 14 -- SpectRx Inc. has completed milestones valued at $400,000 under its agreement with Roche Diagnostics to develop the Accu-Chek D-Tector, a photonics-based non-invasive diabetes detection device. The milestones reached were the initiation and completion of key device tests and delivery of units to Roche. SpectRx will manufacture the devices, which are to be marketed worldwide by Roche exclusively. Roche also bears responsibility for regulatory approval.
The Accu-Chek D-Tector employs biophotonics -- the technology of using light beams and other forms of energy to diagnose and monitor medical conditions -- to detect diabetes. The device uses SpectRx's proprietary biophotonic technology to identify individuals with the disease by shining a blue light into the lens of the eye and collecting and analyzing the returned light. SpectRx said that the light returned from the eye of a diabetic subject is more intense than that returned from the eye of an individual without diabetes.