Medtronic Diabetes concept car monitors glucose levels in-dash

Operating a vehicle during a diabetic blood sugar crash can be a dangerous proposition for both driver and others on the road. That's why Medtronic Diabetes developed the M-POWERED concept car that allows a person to constantly monitor glucose levels via both audio and visual cues. The Lincoln sedan was unveiled at this year's American Diabetes Association annual meeting in San Francisco. No word on what happens during a glucose drop, but we imagine some sort of alarm and then, perhaps, shutdown occurs.

[John @ Jun 12th 2008 7:59AM]

Cool, but depressing that they'll make a killing off of this in 10-20 years.

[Flashpoint @ Jun 12th 2008 8:05AM]

FANTASTIC.

Now while your kids are in the back seat shouting "are we there yet" repeatedly, the whole family can enjoy watching you slip into a diabetic coma !

[Grimke @ Jun 13th 2008 5:15PM]

I like this idea very much!

[avester @ Jun 12th 2008 8:03AM]

Why not just put the beeping to the device itself.

I would find it better, so that I wouldn't have to be in a car to know that my blood glucose is low.

Not that I would feel it, but still.

[jb @ Jun 12th 2008 9:17AM]

the device can be set to notify the user if their blood glucose reaches a certain level high or low. It is a wireless device. I'm guessing the car settings would be preset to a safety level where the device can be set to whatever you want.
Sounds like an awesome use of what the device can do with it's continuous monitoring & wireless abilities.

[DB @ Jun 12th 2008 8:03AM]

looks like a lincoln to me

[Dook_In_The_Urinal @ Jun 12th 2008 10:59AM]

Did you figure that out all by yourself?

[corystal @ Jun 12th 2008 1:01PM]

I think by that he meant: drab, uninspiring design targeted at the senior community with no emphasis whatsoever on functionality.

[Flashpoint @ Jun 12th 2008 8:06AM]

A device like this should be linked into OnStar and into a shutoff for the engine.

Once, near my neighborhood, a bus driver slipped into a diabetic coma and he plowed into power lines and brought down power for a bunch of residents, while also causing over a million dollars of damage.

[Zak @ Jun 12th 2008 12:43PM]

I'm not sure that shutting the engine off while you're, say, going 75 on the freeway is a good idea.

[Munkcy @ Jun 12th 2008 1:31PM]

"...while also causing over a million dollars of damage."


What were your power lines made of, gold? Are you sure it was over a million dollars? You're not just exaggerating a story knowing that none of us can realistically fact check you, are you?

[Chuckles McGee @ Jun 13th 2008 12:17AM]

Healthy eating and exercise can cut your risk of type 2 diabetes by 90%- Harvard Medical School

Type I or Type II, their fault or not, it's good to have a device that prevents them from causing damage to others.

[Wonderkid @ Jun 12th 2008 8:18AM]

Sad. The wise Engadget reader knows that America (and now Britain too) works like this (this is not a joke or an attempt at sarcasm by the way, this is the truth, so help me g-d.) a) Promote corn syrup, high saturated fat and simple carbohydrate based diet to the young and poor (read: the vulnerable), and top up with high caffein sugary drinks to maintain a near permanent state of 'feeling good' come hell or high water. (Hence slogan used by certain cola maker.) b) Soon as said victims grow older and fat forms around their vital organs, have the complicit pharmaceutical industry promote (via commission paid doctors) an essential ('life saving') routine of insulin and associated equipment. And now dear citizen, you can have a car to match your 'my life sponsored by XYZ, Inc' lifestyle. Ironic that if a movie was made that envisioned a future like this, it would draw gasps of "That would never happen." In the plot, a white masculine, well spoken hero would save the day by blowing up the heart of all this evil. But this is reality folks, so we're powerless for as long as children are brainwashed making the job of the parent almost impossible. Where is Superman when you need him?

[Ron Smith @ Jun 12th 2008 9:49AM]

Not all diabetics are so due to nutrition or "being fat". I am a type ! diabetic and have been since I was two. From wikipedia: "Type 1 diabetes is usually due to autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic beta cells" not the type 2 due to insulin resistance (most due to incredible fat stores, however some due to decreased insulin production for other reasons) However as a diabetic, I will not get this car, my current way is just as good and much less expensive (plus there is not the stigma of having a medical device on your dashboard)

[weigelt @ Jun 12th 2008 9:53AM]

Wonderkid...you fail to mention the millions of people who have Type 1 diabetes to whom this development is also very exciting--namely some 17-year-old who did nothing to acquire the disease, but who might in the future be able to drive with more peace of mind thanks to this. To think that in 5-10 years this might be a widely available option for cars is pretty cool.

[Zak @ Jun 12th 2008 12:47PM]

Also, Diabetes is highly genetic. Ask a doctor sometime, they'll tell you the same thing. A lot of the time it has nothing to do with your diet, it has to do with whether your parents have diabetes or not.

[sully @ Jun 12th 2008 8:21AM]

The actual plan is that the car gives you a muffin in the event of a drop.

[eggothewaffle @ Jun 12th 2008 9:44AM]

So *that's* what the "M" stands for in "M-POWERED."

[Wonderkid @ Jun 12th 2008 8:23AM]

Follow up: One of the aspects of American culture that I noticed during 10 years of living in California was that people were programmed to fear the outdoors - hence the streets are empty and people travel by car everywhere, unlike Europe, the Middle East or Asia. In addition, they are programmed to 'need' processions in order to feel secure. This car will soon become yet another crutch. Want to bring all this crap to an end? Eat un processed foods, for life. Fruit, nuts, meat cooked rare (overcooked meat causes cancer), pulses (beans etc) - and splurge on ice cream and pizza once a month. Everything in moderation, except sports and music. :-)

[Jahner @ Jun 12th 2008 11:30AM]

Overcooked meat causes cancer, wonderkid? Wow, now I've heard everything. UNDERcooked meat causes e-coli, so I'll take my chances, thank you very much...seems EVERYTHING causes cancer these days.

And this is a great idea, shut down the engine if blood sugar gets too low; that way, while you are having a blood sugar crash and are frantically trying to find a safe place to pull over, you can lose control of your vehicle in the middle of traffic! Bravo, Lincoln, bravo.

[Jahner @ Jun 12th 2008 11:37AM]

And after ten years of living in Asia, I also learned that Americans are not the only culture that uses cars to travel everywhere. Believe it or not, people drive places elsewhere, too. I hardly believe it's human nature to "fear" the outdoors...just because we live indoors now doesn't mean we fear the outdoors. I went outside just yesterday, and believe it or not, I survived. Why is it not shocking to me that you lived in Cali (i.e. hippie-ville USA) for that long??

[Peter @ Jun 12th 2008 8:29AM]

Farmers' Markets all over the country rejoice!

[lejupp @ Jun 13th 2008 5:16AM]

All nice and well, but if it has to be "m-powered", i'd rather have this in my car:

https://www.m-power.com/

LeJupp

[natels @ Jun 12th 2008 9:07AM]

Wonderkid, if you shorten those posts to maybe a quarter of what they are, someone might read them.

[Tony Elmquist @ Jun 12th 2008 10:18AM]

Cool, I guess... but I agree with avester - I'm waiting for good continuous blood glucose monitoring technology, preferably non-invasive - but if I had a continuous monitor, why not just have the *monitor* tell me I'm crashing... I don't need the car to do that. I don't like my car having too many geegaws anyways. I still have crank windows :)

I'm a type 1 diabetic (pretty recent onset - makes you feel young when you get "juvenile onset diabetes" at age 39) and I have had one low while driving; I noticed it well before it became a problem, and pulled over to take care of it. A monitor certainly would help with that - but I don't see why it makes it any more useful to have it be part of the car. I want to know if I'm crashing when I'm, say, sailing or hang gliding or doing brain surgery or defusing a bomb or composing an email to my boss, too.

[Kate @ Jun 12th 2008 10:41AM]

You must have a very interesting job if you do all those things regularly... : )

[EMaster @ Jun 12th 2008 12:00PM]

That is so cool! That would help me out when going out for dinner I'd when I'm coming home b4 taking my shot. I'm seriously getting this when it comes out....... Now go research me a cure!

[GBot @ Jun 12th 2008 12:11PM]

Nice try, Medtronic.

If you really wanted the Engadget editors to write you an emphatically raving review, you would have made it iPhone compatible...

[BARB @ Jun 12th 2008 12:48PM]

I THINK FLASHPOINT IS A TOTAL SMART ASS--GET A CLUE BUDDY!!!

[Manny Hernandez @ Jun 12th 2008 1:45PM]

I saw this at the ADA. I had mixed feelings about the concept as it can create distractions for the driver. Having a mechanism that would ensure that people test before they drive would be better in my opinion.

I have posted this on TuDiabetes.com, a social network for people touched by diabetes, to see what they think about it:
http://tudiabetes.com/forum/topic/show?id=583967%3ATopic%3A158882

[Amy Tenderich @ Jun 15th 2008 2:12AM]

I had also posted about it with photos on commentary on www.diabetesmine.com.

I was at the ADA conference and saw this thing live: Actually, the screen display looked incredibly distracting, i.e. major road hazard as you watch your breakfast muffin peak your glucose…

What WOULD be useful for Type 1 diabetics would be the ability to have your car alert you to encroaching hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood sugar). Plus no more need to pull over to test your glucose on those long road trips! A futuristic vision, of course, but it sure made a splashy booth display at the big ADA event.

[NextBigTrends @ Jun 19th 2008 6:56AM]

nextbigtrends.com have featured before the car that has a breathalyzer which monitors the alcohol level of drivers. Now, another concept car is created that intends to give a medical analysis too. This time, it concerns the glucose level of the drivers, particularly the diabetic ones.