Washington, July 13 (ANI): Scientists have designed a new, inexpensive paper-based device for diabetes testing to help patients in rural areas of developing countries, like India.

The device was described in the latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS') award-winning Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions podcast series.

Based on a report by Jan Lankelma, Ph.D., and colleagues in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry, the podcast is available without charge at iTunes and from www.acs.org/globalchallenges.

It explains the need for less-expensive methods to help people with diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels.

The disease is surging in India, China and other areas of the world where poverty limits the availability of health care. Although existing diabetes test strips seem inexpensive, the cost can be prohibitive in those areas.

To address these challenges, the researchers developed a new glucose monitor made from inexpensive materials that measures sugar levels in urine.

Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions is a series of podcasts describing some of the 21st century's most daunting problems, and how cutting-edge research in chemistry matters in the quest for solutions.

Global Challenges is the centerpiece in an alliance on sustainability between ACS and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Global Challenges is a sweeping panorama of global challenges that includes dilemmas such as providing a hungry and thirsty world with ample supplies of safe food and clean water, developing alternatives to petroleum to fuel society, preserving the environment and ensuring a sustainable future for our children and improving human health. (ANI)