Diabetes Technology Research Forum
I would like to invite discussion and comments on technology for better treatment and management of diabetes. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "New Entry" to start a new thread, or "Post Reply" to an existing thread.
To start people off I will give you my angle.
Since my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in September 2007 I have spent a lot of time reviewing what’s available for diabetics to make treatment and management easier and reduce the impact on my daughter’s life. What has surprised and disappointed me is how little there is. Small glucose meters that require a small sample size, and rather chunky insulin pumps is about as far as we’ve come, despite the incredible sophistication of present day technology.
I am convinced a lot more can be done. Here are some simple examples.
We have used the Accu-Chek Compact Plus by Roche, all in one glucose meter. It automatically dispenses test strips. Great, BUT it's hardly compact and it requires a large sample size. Why isn’t there a meter more like the FreeStyle by Abbots which is small and requires a small sample, but does not require diabetics to carry around a tub of strips? The TRUEone is pretty close, but again requires a large sample size.
Why are insulin pens so large? What about a much smaller pen that you might load up with just enough insulin for the day, but is far more discreet and easier to carry around.
Mobile phones are carried by lots of people. What about a glucose meter that plugs into a mobile phone? The module would be small because you can use the mobile phones power, software and screen.
Let’s get more fancy. What about a device that contains 10 test strips arranged in a circular configuration that could be attached to the skin and automatically take blood samples using a built in automated pricker device.
I could go on.
So the idea of this forum is to discuss ideas like these and share links of interesting devices. I’ve found quite a lot on the internet, but I’m always surprised that I keep finding more, or people send me links I’ve not yet found myself. So here are a selection of the best (most promising) links I’ve found (I’ve got a lot more).
Delivery Systems
www.starbridgesystems.co.uk These guys are just rebranding but before this I found out quite a lot about their very promising product. It uses lazers to melt wax that pushing the insulin into the patient.
Non-Invasive Glucose Measurement
Finally some rules. I will not allow any abusive entries (obviously) but also any entries that talk about crank diabetes cures. I’ve seen these on other forums and I find them offensive because they are clearly trying to take advantage.