Ian Alexander Shanks (born 22 June 1948) is a British scientist who invented the technology behind the digital blood

glucose meter A glucose meter, also referred to as a "glucometer", is a medical device for determining the approximate concentration of glucose in the blood. It can also be a strip of glucose paper dipped into a substance and measured to the glucose chart. ...

in 1982, working on his own time while employed at

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

. In the 1970s Shanks had done significant research on

liquid crystal display A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other Electro-optic modulator, electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liq ...

s (LCDs), and later

optoelectronics Optoelectronics (or optronics) is the study and application of electronic devices and systems that find, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, ''light'' often includes invisible forms of radi ...

Early life

Shanks attended

Dumbarton Academy Founded in ''1485'', Dumbarton Academy (formerly Dumbarton Grammar School) is a non-denominational, Mixed-sex education, co-educational state secondary school. The school is located in the Historical town of Dumbarton, Scotland. History Ear ...

and then gained a BSc from the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. He obtained a PhD.

Career

Glucose meter

In May 1982 Shanks moved to

UK Central Resources Ltd (CRL) north of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

. There, whilst working in process control, he invented the technology that led to the digital blood glucose meter, under European Patent (UK) 0 170 375 filed in June 1985 and granted in May 1990 (). The technology involves a capillary cell incorporating electrodes coated with

glucose oxidase The glucose oxidase enzyme (GOx or GOD) also known as notatin (EC number 1.1.3.4) is an oxidoreductase that catalyses the oxidation of glucose to hydrogen peroxide and D-glucono-δ-lactone. This enzyme is produced by certain species of fungi an ...

, in meters used by millions of diabetics, thereby revolutionising blood glucose testing. Most of the companies making the meters obtained licences from Unilever medical diagnostics subsidiary Unipath, until it was sold to Inverness Medical Inventions in 2001. In 1984 Shanks became the youngest person, at 35, to receive an FRS, based on his LCD development work. He also won the

Clifford Paterson Medal and Prize The Clifford Paterson Medal and Prize is awarded by the Institute of Physics. It was established in 1981 and named after Clifford Copland Paterson. The prize is awarded each year for exceptional early career contributions to the application of p ...

in 1994. Shanks became Head of Physical and Engineering Sciences at CRL before leaving in October 1986. Shanks sued Unilever in 2006 for employee-inventor patent compensation under section 40 of the 1977 Patents Act — initially unsuccessfully. However, in a landmark decision on 23 October 2019, the Supreme Court awarded him £2 million on the basis that Unilever had received an “outstanding benefit” from the glucose testing patents. Shanks founded the Optoelectronics College. In 2025 The

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

(NAE) awarded Shanks with the national

Russ Prize The Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize is an American national and international award established by the United States National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in October 1999 in Athens. Named after Fritz Russ, the founder of Systems Research Labor ...

for breakthrough achievements in engineering and technology “for the invention of the electrochemical capillary fill device (eCFD), which gives diabetes patients and caregivers accurate and timely blood glucose measurements for diabetes management.”

Personal life

He was awarded the OBE in the

2012 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom, on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand,Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry (; ; ) is a suburb of Dundee, in Scotland. It is situated four miles east of the City Centre, Dundee, city centre on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. The area was a separate burgh from 1864 until 1913, when it was incorporated ...

References

External links

Optoelectronics College

Royal Society

Debretts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanks, Ian 1948 births Alumni of the University of Glasgow British diabetologists Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Dumbarton Academy Scottish inventors Unilever people Living people