Diabetes -- Engadget

diabetes posts

Bayer introduces Contour USB glucose meter

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 8:11PM

We may not yet have nanosensors or high-tech contact lenses to monitor glucose levels, but there are still plenty of gadgets out there to help diabetics, and Bayer has now introduced another first with its new Contour USB glucose meter. While it doesn't go quite so far as to provide continuous, wireless monitoring like some similar concepts we've seen, it will accept test strips like any other glucose meter, and do plenty of things those others can't -- like store up to 2,000 readings on the stick itself, display the results right on the stick's color display, and sync up with your Mac or PC for more detailed logs and additional information. No firm word on an actual release date just yet, but Bayer says it will be available in the U.S. "soon."

[Via Everything USB]

Tattoo-like nanosensor could monitor glucose levels, enhance your cool factor

by Darren Murph posted Feb 17th 2009 at 7:48AM

Make no mistake, there are quite a few sophisticated ways to monitor one's glucose levels, but we're pretty certain we've never seen an approach as simple and as bodacious as this. Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratories has stumbled upon a new embeddable nanosensor that could, at least in theory, eliminate those painful pricks endured today by so many diabetics. The so-called "injectable nanotech ink" could be inserted under the skin much like a tattoo, though Draper's Heather Clark notes that it "doesn't have to be a large, over-the-shoulder kind of tattoo." In fact, it can be as small as a few millimeters in size, though if it were us, we'd use it as the perfect excuse in order to plaster our backs with Ice Climbers. Testing of the new approach is expected to begin very soon, though that usually means it won't be ready for humans until at least a few years later. Ah well, plenty of time to dream up the perfect design, right?

[Via medGadget]

Artificial pancreas developed, twice as cool as your boring real one

by Paul Miller posted Aug 8th 2008 at 8:50PM

We've never really found much use for our pancreas. It doesn't comes up in conversation, and tends to be a bit of a non-entity when it comes to our social life. Still, some people have a bit more trouble with their pancreai, and for those folks the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is working on an artificial pancreas to do the job. It's based around existing technology for monitoring and moderating blood sugar levels, but "closes the loop," scratching out human error by feeding monitoring data, computer predictions and insulin injections into one system that doesn't require human intervention. To start out, the foundation plans on creating a product aimed at regulating blood-sugar overnight, and then from there move on to a 'round the clock device.

[Via Protein Feed]

Freedom Meditech promises glucose-monitoring eye scanner

by Donald Melanson posted Jun 19th 2008 at 3:06PM

There's certainly no shortage of efforts out there to make glucose monitoring a bit easier for diabetics, but Freedom Meditech is now claiming to have developed one of the least invasive to date and, what's more, it says it's actually gearing up to start some clinical trials. That latter bit is apparently possible thanks to a newly formed partnership with Batelle, which is helping to raise the necessary capital, while the former bit got a boost from an arrangement with the University of Toledo, whose technology it is licensing. The key bit, it seems, is that Freedom Meditech's method involves scanning only the front portion of the eye (or, more specifically, the Aqueous humor where the glucose resides) instead of shining a light on the retina, which some similar methods use. That apparently not only delivers results faster, but reduces the risk of any potential long-term safety hazards from repeated laser exposure, which would also make it better suited as a tool for early screening of diabetes.

Medtronic Diabetes concept car monitors glucose levels in-dash

by Joshua Fruhlinger posted Jun 12th 2008 at 7:55AM

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.

Philips invents breath test for diabetics

by Evan Blass posted Feb 12th 2008 at 10:58PM

As anyone who has a regular date with a needle knows, poking oneself on the daily can be a real pain -- in the ass or otherwise. Well there appears to be good news on the horizon for at least some of us self-stabbers: Philips is attempting to patent a method for diabetic glucose detection that eschews the finger prick for a simple breath test. Based on recent research linking blood glucose levels to the concentration of carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, Philips claims to have built a non-invasive device significantly more accurate than past attempts based on sugar's spectroscopic signature. No word yet on FDA approval, commercial release, or anything of that sort, but with diabetes continuing to plague more and more individuals, let's hope this product gets put on the fast track.

[Via New Scientist]

GlucoBoy blood-sugar testing game finally ships

by Nilay Patel posted Dec 7th 2007 at 8:20AM

We first noticed the GlucoBoy blood-sugar testing game for the Game Boy Advance way back in 2004, but it's taken three years for inventor Paul Wessel to get the necessary approval from Nintendo to start manufacturing the game. Targeted at kids with juvenile diabetes, the device rewards timely testing and target blood sugar levels by doling out points that can be used to unlock 2 full length games and 3 additional mini-arcade games, and kids can share point totals and high scores on a related website called GRIP. GlucoBoy is now available in Australia, but the company hopes to have wider availability soon.

[Via Joystiq]

Charmr concept transforms glucose monitoring

by Darren Murph posted Aug 15th 2007 at 3:26AM

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.]

Continue reading Charmr concept transforms glucose monitoring

HealthPia's GlucoPhone gets FDA approval

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2007 at 2:10AM

While the idea of a diabetes phone is far from new, a company dubbed HealthPia is well on its way to actually delivering such a product. Reportedly, the firm has "obtained FDA approval for its patent-pending technology that integrates a blood glucose meter with a standard-issue cellphone." Interestingly, it not only allows you to send results over the air, but specially equipped mobiles will actually be fitted with a GlucoPack that enables you to test yourself as you would with any other (more traditional) meter. During last week's AADE conference, the company supposedly announced that Verizon's LG5200 would be the first to sport such technology, and for those who think this could make their lives a whole lot easier, grab your specs and hit the read link for more.

[Thanks, Clement S.]

Oculus' uber-oxidised water hastens healing

by Darren Murph posted May 25th 2007 at 10:32AM

We've seen self-assembling chips, self-healing panels, and even regenerative houses hit the drawing board before, but California-based Oculus has created a liquid that can reportedly quicken the healing process when recovering from wounds. The firm's Dermacyn topical wound care is an "oxychlorine formulation" using the company's own Microcyn concoction, which is made by "taking purified water and passing it through a semi-permeable sodium chloride membrane to produce the oxychlorine ions," and essentially contains "electrically charged molecules which pierce the cell walls of free-living microbes." The formula is reportedly successful in killing off virii, bacteria, and fungi, and currently, the company is enrolling patients in a Phase II trial to evaluate its effectiveness in treating diabetic foot infections. The company is hoping to start said trial in Q3 of this year, and if all goes well, wants to execute a pair of larger Phase III trials shortly thereafter.

[Via BBC]

JHU research leads to diabetes treating implant

by Darren Murph posted May 12th 2007 at 1:56AM

Although a number of unique diabetes treatments are already in the works, researchers at Johns Hopkins University are giving it a shot of their own with a newfangled intravascular implant. A team of undergrads have collaborated with doctors and biomedical engineers to develop a "specialized implant for a potential treatment of type I diabetes," which has been created for implantation inside the portal vein in order to dole out insulin when needed. The pouch would ideally be "impregnated with insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells," but researchers have insinuated that this same system could possibly be used to treat other ailments such as liver disease. Notably, users could actually have the pouch removed, refilled, and reinserted if additional treatment is needed, and while no firm timeframe has been settled on for release, a provisional patent has already been applied for and "animal testing" is set to start this summer.

[Via MedGadget]

Eli Lilly offering up undercover insulin pen to US

by Darren Murph posted Feb 7th 2007 at 7:01AM

There's already a bevy of devices out there designed to keep track and manage one's diabetes and glucose levels, but Eli Lilly's innocuous pen-like injector looks to make the process of taking insulin a bit less invasive. The Huma-Pen Memoir resembles your average ink pen and shouldn't look too out of place holding it down in your tee's front pocket, but whenever you need a shot of insulin, it conveniently turns into an injector thanks to the hidden hypodermic needle encased within. The device also "allows the user to dial the amount of insulin they need to take," and keeps the dosage, date, and time of the previous 16 shots in order to keep diabetics from overdosing. Users should be able to utilize the same pen for "around three years," and after a needle is used, another is inserted and ready to go at the owners request. A few lucky participants have already received their pen here in the US, and while this nifty invention has been available across Europe for some time now, it will officially hit American retail shelves next week for around $45.

[Via MedGadget]

Researchers develop blood sugar-monitoring contacts

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 15th 2006 at 2:22AM

They're not the only ones working on contact lenses that measure blood sugar levels, but researchers at the University of Maryland's Biotechnology Institute led by Dr. Chris Geddes seem to have taken the technology further than most. They've reportedly developed special molecules that can detect glucose at very low levels which, when incorporated into a pair of contact lenses, should be adequate for detecting the amount of glucose in the wearer's tears -- which is about one tenth the amount in blood. What's more, unlike previous versions of the technology -- which required an additional device to read the results -- Geddes' new lenses will be able to simply display the results as a dot in the wearer's field of vision, changing colors to indicate low or high blood sugar levels. A lot more pleasant than the pin prick most diabetics now use to monitor their blood sugar to be sure, although as you can no doubt guess, more testing is needed before the lenses can be released into the wild.

[Via Digg]

VeriChip patents glucose-sensing RFID chip

by Paul Miller posted Nov 1st 2006 at 7:56AM

You know how we love to rag on VeriChip, but we really can't complain about the do-gooder nature of this chip patent awarded to its sister company, Digital Angel Corp. The described glucose-sensing RFID chip would allow for quick, painless and purportedly more accurate glucose concentration readings for diabetics who have the chip implanted. Of course, ever with an eye for commercialization, Digital Angel says the chips could also work for tracking diabetic livestock, an apparently common and costly problem. Still, we're sure the 230 million human beings with the disease won't mind sharing such quality-of-life enhancements with their animal brethren, and hopefully such commercializations will help Digital Angel keep prices low for the chips. We're a long way off from an actual product -- it seems like most of the required development, testing and FDA approval is yet to be accomplished -- but we'll be keeping an eye out for the chips in completed form to make life a whole lot easier for the diabetics among us.

[Via The Wireless Report]

Cambridge Consultants develop NFC diabetes management device

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 23rd 2006 at 8:16AM

If near field communication (NFC) is good enough for handling your money, then surely it must be good enough for managing vital health information, no? At least that's what Cambridge Consultants is promising, recently unveiling an NFC-based concept device developed in conjunction with Philips that could potentially be used by people to manage diabetes. The system consists of a wireless glucometer and an insulin pump which interact with each other to determine the proper dose of insulin by simply waving the two devices near each other, working just as well underneath clothing. And while they've focused solely on diabetes thus far, the researchers say near field communications could potentially be applied to a wide range of medicinal applications, including pain relief, asthma and respiratory care, and gastric electrical stimulation therapy, among others.