Investigating the Efficacy of Using Hand Tremors for Early Detection of Hypoglycemic Events: A Scoping Literature Review

Abstract

Diabetes is a prevalent condition affecting millions of patients globally. Some diabetic patients suffer from a deadly condition called Hypoglycemia (sudden drop in blood glucose levels). Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) have been the most pervasive tool used to track blood glucose levels but these tools are invasive and costly. While early detection of hypoglycemia has been studied, current approaches do not leverage tremors; which are a primary symptom of hypoglycemia. A scoping review was conducted to understand the relationship between tremors and hypoglycemia, and to document any efforts that utilized tremor signatures non-invasively to detect hypoglycemic events. Findings suggest that hypoglycemic tremors are a medium frequency tremor, more resistant to hypoglycemic impairment than other symptoms, and have not been fully explored yet. This paper also documents the work in progress to utilize a novel wearable device that predicts the onsets of hypoglycemia using hand tremor sensing.