Bayer Didget blood glucose monitoring system does double-duty as a DS game
By Tim Stevens 
posted April 27th 2010 1:45PM
posted April 27th 2010 1:45PM
Until we reach the time when tattoos make checking blood glucose levels cool, we're going to need another way to keep kids with diabetes healthy. And hey, kids love videogames, right? Bayer's Didget is based on the company's Contour glucose meter, but instead of connecting by USB it's shaped like a Game Boy cartridge, enabling it to slot into a Nintendo DS or DS Lite. When kids upload their scores to a custom game (the less than thrilling sounding Knock 'Em Downs: World Fair) they'll unlock new characters and items, but there's one fatal flaw in this plan: the system necessarily isn't compatible with the DSi (or its XL brother) and we're guessing the big cartridge slot isn't due for a comeback in the 3DS. In other words, this meter is on a fast-track to obsolescence.
who would have thought Diabetes could be fun?
@Mentat
Over half of our country with Type II
@Mentat
Funny thing is, they made a spelling mistake: In other words, this meter is on a fast-track to obesity.
Obesity, not obsolescence.
@Mentat This will be an amazing way to keep young kids involved/thinking about their condition, hopefully leading to healthy adolescence and beyond..
Cool, but maybe if the kids were playing outside instead of playing video games they wouldn't have diabetes in the first place.
@DrDr
Not true, it could run in the family thus even if they are active they still could get it.
@DrDr
You are callous and uninformed. Insulin dependent diabetes, otherwise known as Type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes has nothing to do with obesity. It as an autoimmune disease whereby the immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that create insulin. Without natural insulin, these children cannot process the sugar in their bloodstream to feed their body. Without synthetic insulin, they would die in a matter of weeks, or maybe days, and there is no cure (yet).
My six year old son has type 1 diabetes, and I find your comment highly offensive. Please visit www.jdrf.org and educate yourself.
@DrDr
Well, they want to look like their videogame hero, Mario. And he's kind of fat.....
@glennS Hear Hear. Even Type 2 Diabetes is now thought to be partially inherited.
@DrDr That's a pretty offensive comment to someone that has type 1 diabetes. Type 1 is inherited; as in, anyone can get it if it runs in their family. No matter how fit they are. I'm actually just below the perfect weight for someone my age/height, and i have Type 1.
So before you go around posting offensive comments, try to educate yourself some. And even Type 2 diabetes is starting to look like it's partly inherited too.
Here's some info:
http://www.jdrf.org/
http://www.tudiabetes.org/
http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/
@GadgetTamer
I'm sorry. Didn't mean to offend anyone, just my initial reaction to the post. I had always just heard that obesity was the main cause of diabetes, didn't realize that it was something that you could be born with.
What are you guys 5 years old? "I'M OFFENDED HE SAID FAT PEOPLE GET DIABETES" seems more like ur looking for an outlet to whine about it. My grandmother has diabetes but I didn't read that and get offended, its a fact fat people are more likely to get diabetes and we have a obesity problem. I see tv shows every day about 300 pound 6 year old.
@patp
Please learn the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They are different ailments with similar symptoms. Being a 'game' gadget, this is clearly aimed at children, and clearly aimed at Type 1, which has nothing to do with obesity.
And yes, people who are dealing with Type 1 diabetes do get offended when someone confuses what we are dealing with and Type 2, like your grandmother has. Because those comments imply that all diabetes is avoidable and that the diabetics have only themselves to blame. If you or your child had a life threatening disease, which was NOT caused by anything you did, then how would you feel if people kept telling you that it was your own fault? Both my post, and GadgetTamer's post included links about Type1. We're not looking for an outlet to whine. There are plenty of diabetes support sites where we can discuss our issues with like minded adults. We're trying to educate people so they can stop being confused about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
The OP apologized, and I accept his sincerity. After reading this thread, I can not fathom how you could write what you did, and feel good about it.
@DrDr Yes, it is not obesity that is causing diabetes. It is America's geographic and political isolation that has led us to be more genetically prone to diabetes than the rest of the world.
http://www.engadget.com/2004/10/26/glucoboy-brings-blood-sugar-monitoring-to-gameboy/
@Evan
Yeah. Old news engadget!
So 6 years ago.
At first I read that title as Buy Diglet Blood.
I've just done some tender evaluation for our hospital, why wasn't this in the tender? :-(
Although, I imagine the game would get quite tiresome very quickly.
Bring back Dr. Mario!
What ever happened to the iPhone glucometer they demoed at the OS 3.0 event?
@DTJ Unfortunately, the iPhone won't support the Bluetooth Serial Port Profile (SPP) which many medical devices like glucometers use to exchange data. Shoulda' been easy.
Yeah, but they actually showed one that worked over a new API that was introduced in 3.0.
@DTJ Was it a physical connection or Bluetooth? There is a rumored bastardized Apple only BT profile. If so, that should be avoided like the plague and banned by the Bluetooth BQB.
A little dongle off the dock connector. All the software was on the iPhone.
@DTJ It hasn't been cleared by the FDA and probably never will be. The iPhone is not a good platform for a medical device. There is not way to control it at the kernel level to prevent other code from executing while the the medical device software is in use.
@DNAbio Are you sure you're not confusing requirements. That makes sense for a standalone monitoring device, but it's a completely ridiculous requirement for anything that needs to interact with any general computing device, unless you want to ignore any OS less than 20 years old. Of course other things might be executing concurrently with your interface software, and there's really nothing you're going to be able to do about it.
@chaos215bar2 On windows, we can control what processes are running and test for the interactions. In addition, we can lock them down as a manufacturer so that nothing can be installed. None of this can be done with the iPhone OS. This is the reason that most devices are stand alone running an embedded OS. Typically, laptops are used for analysis, but all of the detection is controlled by a stand alone, embedded device. The Bayer device in the article is stand-alone and dumps data to play a game, which isn't considered a device.
The Lifescan system would make the iPhone part of the device application and would be a nightmare. Every time a message didn't send, the application crashed, or something popped up to obscure data, the event would need to tracked and trended and mitigations put into place.
About Type 2 Diabetes
When you have type 2 diabetes, high levels of sugar build up in your blood. This can lead to serious health complications. That's why controlling your blood sugar is key to managing diabetes. Keeping your blood sugar under control lowers your risk for complications later. High blood sugar can harm your organs and raise your risk of heart disease.
Are You in Control
Having type 2 diabetes means that your body doesn't make enough insulin, or doesn't properly use the insulin your body makes. Insulin is a hormone that is made in your pancreas. It helps your body's cells use sugar (also called glucose), which comes from foods and drinks. Sugar is a source of energy for cells.
This site focuses on type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. Typically, with type 2 diabetes, the body still makes insulin, but its cells can't use it. This is called insulin resistance. Over time, high levels of sugar build up in the bloodstream. Being overweight and inactive increase the chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
Other main types of diabetes include:
* Type 1 diabetes, which often affects children (although adults can develop it, too). In this form of diabetes, the body can't make insulin. The immune system mistakenly attacks the cells in the pancreas that make and release insulin. As these cells die, blood sugar levels rise. People with type 1 diabetes need insulin shots.
* Gestational diabetes, which occurs in some pregnant women. It can cause problems during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Women who get gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
http://www.diana-skordas.gr
Wait, but does it include a DS cartridge? otherwise you could only play thier game on one screen (a la GBA) and it would not be touch sensitive.
@d3si9n Yes the blood tester comes with the game on a standard DS cartridge. I own the game but I wouldn't rate it highly. It features minigames and a final fantasy-like main game with similar battle sequences. The blood tester is alright, shame it isn't backlit. I prefer this one, made by the same company and uses the same test strips:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/23/bayer-introduces-countour-usb-glucose-meter/
Call me when they bother to support more than shovelware.
What a nasty way to lure me into getting s DS :D. Ain't gonna get one before it gets 3D Screen. If ever :)
Imagine : MOM MOM, I WANT DIABETES SO I CAN PLAY WITH THE OTHER KIDS............