Charmr concept transforms glucose monitoring

Just three days ago, we saw the nifty GlucoPhone receive the FDA's coveted stamp of approval, and now Adaptive Path has conjured up a conceptual device of its own that could transform the way diabetics are forced to live out their lives. The Charmr itself is a small wirelessly-enabled thumb drive (of sorts) that can be worn anywhere you prefer, and boasts a display that continuously shows glucose levels and stores trend data for future PC analysis. The unit would purportedly interface with a waterproof patch that includes an insulin reservoir, a glucose sensor, an insertion needle, and a wireless transmitter to speak to the Charmr. Currently, the design is still waiting for a pharmaceutical company to pick it up and actually bring it to market, but be sure and check out the demonstrative video after the jump.

[Via DiabetesMine, thanks Allison B.]

[fred @ Aug 15th 2007 3:48AM]

How.... iPhoney.

[Deluxe @ Aug 15th 2007 4:51AM]

This couldn't have *less* to do with the iPhone.

Would you mind blowing it out your ass?

[fred @ Aug 15th 2007 5:14AM]

@Deluxe:

I meant that the interface reminded me of the iPhone's interface, and I was trying to convey my sense of wonder about wether all consumer device manufacturer's are once again going for uniformity in their interface design, and if it was necessary for a medical device to sport a 'hip' interface.

But obviously I didn't phrase my message as sophisticatedly as you phrased yours. Feel free to comment again when you're feeling less easily offended.

[thecubic @ Aug 15th 2007 3:50AM]

This looks cool in an iPhone way - but if we're shooting for convenience, nothing's better than a cure and new gadgetry for this doesn't interest me like other stuff does. New tech for the diabeetus happens every week and is an enormous industry. I should know, I help fund it :)

[Bernhard @ Aug 15th 2007 4:03AM]

Charming....

[ryanwalklin @ Aug 15th 2007 4:05AM]

Are you nuts?! CGMS (continuous glucose monitoring systems) are an incredible advance in optimising glucose control through the appropriate use of oral hypoglycaemics and optimisation of insulin. It is even more important now that it is becoming apparent that glucose excursions from mean significantly contribute to the long term consequences of diabetes (which HbA1c measurements are insensitive to).

Current systems are bulky and unwieldy, and as such are limited to research projects, hence the value of this system. I can't believe the two of you tried to compare it to the iPhone.

[Jamie @ Aug 16th 2007 2:45PM]

I've been on a CGMS (I'm 18, diagnosed at 1 and 8 months, and am having difficulty controlling - I'm one step away in the NHS Framework from being on a pump).

The main issue I have with them (or at least the Medtronic one I used) was that there was no feedback whatsoever. I had to input my regular blood tests (finger stick) in order to calibrate the CGMS system, which in turn would not alert me to my current glucose levels.

Nice idea, but they're far from being an everyday diabetic's accessory.

[Gil @ Aug 15th 2007 4:10AM]

The only problem I'm seeing with this device is battery power. It needs to maintain:
- a COLOR touchscreen
- a continous wireless connection
- a processor that's working continously to compute the data

And all that must function 24/7. That's a roadblock for this product.

[zorntastic @ Aug 15th 2007 5:10AM]

i wonder if Wilford Brimley is behind this

[PH0ENIX @ Aug 15th 2007 6:01AM]

I hope there are safeguards to prevent someone from hacking into the Charmr and giving the wearer a super high dose of insulin...

[Chutn3y @ Aug 15th 2007 7:11AM]

This looks awesome. I've had diabetes since I was three (now 32), and I can see how this would make things massively more convenient, especially for both younger diabetics and the recently diagnosed (who probably have the most trouble integrating it into their lives).

I just have to take issue with the original writer's choice of words though - this device can "transform the way diabetics are forced to live out their lives". Heh. Makes it sound like we're locked in some kind of terminal, metaphorical prison. The fact is, with a good insulin regime and good control, you can have an utterly 'normal' life. Good spot though, Engadgeteers, I shall be watching the development of this pretty keenly.

[AmyT of www.diabetesmine.com @ Aug 15th 2007 9:54AM]

The words "transform the way diabetics are forced to live out their lives" were certainly not mine, but the Engadget editors'. Poor choice, I agree.

But the design concept is pretty cool -- even if all it does is force the traditional pump companies to think outside the "medical" box.

[Greg Legowski @ Aug 15th 2007 10:33AM]

Substitute "37" for "32" and you have my story -- I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on my 3rd birthday ("Happy Birthday, kid! No cake for you..." ;) )

I love the concept, but I wonder about the huge patch in the concept. I'm a small, thin person who's using rotating leg and hip sites (in addition to the more traditional abdomen sites) after 12 years of insulin pumping due to some hard lumps that were starting to form in some spots on my abdomen. The sensor and reservior/infusion set appeared to be separate units under the same patch in the concept.

One suggestion to the designers if this ever comes to fruition -- make the insulin reservior smaller than the Omnipod (offer different capacities, perhaps?), OR make it so that you're not forced to remove it after 3 days. The reason I passed on the Omnipod during my last pump upgrade round was that I use only half the amount of insulin the Pod holds in that timespan -- I know I could just fill it less, but then I'd rather be wearing a smaller pod.

It's really not that far off conceptually from taking the Minimed pump/CGMS system and combining it with the Omnipod form factor.

[AMP @ Aug 15th 2007 10:19AM]

Current monitoring/control systems suck. I WISH i could have a unit like this tomorrow.

[Chris @ Aug 15th 2007 10:20AM]

Its all about costs for me. Size and UI improvements are great, but right now the continuous monitoring systems are just expensive.

[Peter @ Aug 15th 2007 11:00AM]

I have the current version of the "old" pump that they show (Medtronic/Minimed Paradigm). It has, and I use, its real-time wireless glucose monitoring - with a waterproof sensor. The challenge here is really not the display/receiver device - it is the "sensor" that has to have some contact with blood to measure blood glucose levels. Right now this sensor only lasts 3-10 days. Most of the features described in the video are available and shipping right now...that said, things could always be improve, and cost less.

[James @ Aug 15th 2007 11:03AM]

Man, why don't we just have cyborg implants for the diabetic already? I mean, we can implant an artificial heart, but not an artificial pancreas? Somebody is slackin'.

[constantnormal @ Aug 15th 2007 12:13PM]

Nice ideas, but a bit outside the practicality of current technologies. Here are the problems as I see them: batteries, batteries, batteries.

1) Battery life for the control device. I think that a necessary battery life would be at least a year between replacement (yes, it must have a replaceable battery), with charge life in excess of 24 hrs per charge over that life.

Two things are going to be major draws on electrical power -- the use of the graphical display, and the wireless connection to the sensor and pump patch. I'm not sure if Bluetooth would prove to be too power-hungry a wireless technology to use, but there are alternatives, like ZigBee. You can mitigate the wireless connection draw on the power my limiting it to longer intervals of time between querying the sensor/pump patch, but that gets in the way of the continuous display. I suspect that even waiting a minute between samplings is going to disrupt the user experience -- who is going to enter a command and wait a minute before checking to see the impact of that command? The display power draw can be mitigated by using a low-power technology (like OLED), but I'm not at all sure that such a display technology is amenable to touch-screen control.

2) Battery power for the pump/sensor patch. This is going to require a lot more power than the control device, and the patch will have to include its own control device to manage operation in the event the wireless remote is lost, broken, or too far away to connect. But there is existing battery technology to address the situation here, in the form of an implantable high-capacity battery, that can be recharged nightly in some manner or other -- I'm not sure if wireless recharging through the skin is practical, or if a recharging terminal would have to be accessible. A more desirable solution would be a flexible thin battery as part of the patch, but I don't believe that we possess such technology at this point in time, nor is there anything on the horizon that I am aware of.

And until you can get around the issue of liability risks for a medical device, Apple is not going to be interested in such a thing. I read somewhere that a long time ago, Steve Jobs was approached by a group of hospital executives trying to get Apple to make a tablet computer for use in hospitals. After due consideration, the project was declined, due to the liability risks in making such a product. There is no benefit (and considerable risk) for Apple in going into the medical device field. Existing glucose monitor makers reap large profits from the sale of strips and needles, and the devices are necessary losses to support those other markets. Apple would have no such revenue from insulin patches, and it would be crazy for them to get into such an enterprise. Same thing is true for any other electronics manufacturer. Some sort of a tie-in with a drug company is needed, and all the players are too large to consider such allegiances, preferring to go it on their own.

[kkelley @ Aug 16th 2007 10:18AM]

As others have said this really is nothing that new. It's just kinda repackaged. We already have pumps with continuous blood glucose monitoring. I have one, but don't use the continuous monitoring. CBGM is the only part of the pump not covered by any insurance plan. The extra unit costs $1000 and the sensors are about $50 ever 3 - 10 days.

Interestingly the company that makes my pump (Medtronic) is working furiously on a "bionic" pancreas. As I understand they see it as the future of their company.

This thing is a neat idea... but I don't see it being anything that isn't gonna happen naturally in the INCREDIBLY profitable world of diabetes supplies.

[Marcelo @ Aug 16th 2007 1:51PM]

Hi guys. I have the Dexcom, which is a continuous glucose monitoring system. It works well, but I still need to calibrate it at least twice a day, just due to the fact that the reading from the abdomen is not equal to the actual glusoce level, as measured on the finger tip. Technology apart; I don't really see how this could rid me of finger pricking, simply because of the blood type it is reading.

Another issue is the fact that you have this weird thing on ur abdomen, and even if it is camuflaged, it is something. I have largely decreased the time I use the Descom because of that; it makes me feel strange, like a bionic person or something; and that's not even counting the intimate moments. I do great with Novolog/Lantus and this new meter called UltraMini. I would never change this for a pump, or anything that would stay on me full time.

I have to admit that using the Dexcom helped me learn about my body, the trends during the day, the effect of different foods. It was a great learning device, but I would only wear it for long drives or uncommon situations.

I think the secret to a good treatment is a balanced diet. I think the cure should come within the next 10 years, and that until then we should do our best to keep our A1C low.

Last thing. I can't believe any of you actually give a damn whether this looks like an Iphone or whatever; how shallow! if this device were feasible it would help so many people, expecially younger kids.

Best of luck to all of you... if you have any comments you can e-mail me if you want...