Do you know the Worldwide estimate of Diabetes population is pegged at 400 million !! That's 5.4% of world population right there. If there is one disease segment that needs immediate digital intervention like never before, Diabetes is the one ! How amazing it would be if Diabetes can be managed without the daily jabs for monitoring glucose levels every day & injecting insulin for those dependent on Insulin for managing their glucose levels !
Eliminating these daily jabs is the holy grail of Diabetes management !! Thankfully many
innovators across the globe have seen this need- gap & trained their guns to come up with revolutionary solutions in form of apps and devices to help people with Diabetes manage their challenge better & improve their Quality of Life !
innovators across the globe have seen this need- gap & trained their guns to come up with revolutionary solutions in form of apps and devices to help people with Diabetes manage their challenge better & improve their Quality of Life !
Read on to know more ..
First up ...
Pocket-sized gadget wonder called Dario !
A pocket sized gadget called Dario can be connected easily to a smart phone which makes recording and monitoring the blood sugar levels a breeze. What’s more , the smart phone can also give hypo alerts to near and dear ones with GPS location in case of an emergency. Talk about a pint sized warrior for diabetes management and you get Dario ! This innovation from Labstyle Innovations has received US FDA approval in Dec 2015
Food scanners
How cool would it be if by scanning your food, an app can tell how much carbohydrates, proteins,
fats, calories and the glycemic load you have in your food along with many other features. Tellspec,
a Canadian company has come up with a food scanner that just does that !
fats, calories and the glycemic load you have in your food along with many other features. Tellspec,
a Canadian company has come up with a food scanner that just does that !
Digital Contact Lenses
Google has patented a digital contact lens through which we can get more information from the digital world plus it can measure blood glucose levels from tears as an added benefit. In
partnership with Novartis, Google plans to develop these smart contact lenses that can track
diabetes and fix farsightedness as well.
partnership with Novartis, Google plans to develop these smart contact lenses that can track
diabetes and fix farsightedness as well.
Bionic pancreas
Developed by the Engineers from Boston University, the Bionic Pancreas is a medical device that combines insulin delivery with glucose monitoring. The device can measure blood glucose levels constantly and decide upon the insulin delivery itself. No more daily jabs !!!! I am sure patients with Insulin dependent diabetes would like a break from daily jabs : )
Wireless monitors
This is the holy grail of daily blood glucose testing and monitoring we are talking about ! Released by Abbott, Free Style Libre system uses a small sensor which automatically and continuously stores blood glucose readings day and night. Discreet glucose readings with a painless one second scan even through clothing. So goodbye to lancets and daily pricks to monitor blood glucose levels.
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Apart from above, there is some talk about Digital tattoos that can measure glucose levels by using electric current to attract glucose to the surface of the skin.
So we have seen a host of technology aided solutions which helps manage diabetes in a comfortableway. These are not available in India; but it wont be long before versions of the same reach Indian shores or we develop it with indigenous brains , customizing it to suit the needs of Indian patients. Along with the new drugs which include inhaled insulin and islet cell transplantation, my belief is the best is yet to come !!!!
Source : Marcia Radosevich, Berci Mesko, WSJ, Medical Futurist, US FDA site, PR newswire
Source : Marcia Radosevich, Berci Mesko, WSJ, Medical Futurist, US FDA site, PR newswire
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