A laser-powered device that measures blood glucose levels noninvasively could replace daily skin pricks for millions of diabetics, researchers say.

Currently, many people with diabetes need to measure their blood glucose levels by pricking their fingers, squeezing drops of blood onto test strips, and processing the results with portable glucometers.

The process can be uncomfortable, messy, and often has to be repeated several times a day.

The new pain-free device, developed with nano-technology, contains piece of silica glass with ions that create florescence when a low-power laser light hits them. When the glass contacts the user’s skin, device reads the length of the signal, calculating the amount of glucose the blood contains in less than 30 seconds.

The new device would eliminate the need for disposable sample testing strips. It also has the has the potential replace recently developed implantable monitoring devices.

The device, which is being developed in two styles – finger-touch and wearable– also could ultimately be used to send alerts to smart phones or readings directly to doctors, said the University of Leeds development team.