How Technology Advancements Are Innovating Diabetes Care?

The global diabetes prevalence in 2019 was estimated to be 9.3% (463 million people), rising to 10.2% (578 million) by 2030 and 10.9% (700 million) by 2045. According to statistics presented by Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, the prevalence is higher in urban (10.8%) than rural (7.2%) areas, and in high-income (10.4%) than low-income countries (4.0%). One in two (50.1%) people living with diabetes do not know that they have diabetes. The global prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance is estimated to be 7.5% (374 million) in 2019 and projected to reach 8.0% (454 million) by 2030 and 8.6% (548 million) by 2045.

Diabetes is a major pervasive chronic disorder that impacts a large number of the global population. As it is a global epidemic and the most expensive disease, the worldwide scenario calls for a stern diabetes management; and here innovative devices and solutions come into picture that provide automated and streamlined diabetes management practices. From Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data Analytics to Smart Pens, all technological advancements serve for the great purpose of curbing rising diabetes disease.

Let's explore how different new-age advancements are innovating diabetes care.

AI and Big Data

According to a market report, the market for artificial intelligence in diabetes management is expected to reach up to US$ 1264.7 million by 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 47.5%, in the forecast period (2018-2024).

Moreover, the lives of people with Type 1 diabetes could be significantly enhanced through algorithms that connect glucose monitors and insulin pumps to automatically regulate blood glucose to healthy levels, in the same fashion that cruise control in an automobile regulates speed.

A new project funded by JDRF, the leading global organization funding Type 1 diabetes research, and led by Wayne Bequette, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, aims to use artificial intelligence and big data techniques to analyze information gathered from thousands of continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps.

Researchers will use that information to improve algorithms that control these critical devices. Using continuous glucose monitors can give people a better idea of whether their blood sugar is trending high or low by providing blood sugar estimates every five minutes, without frequent finger sticks.The data analysis in this research enables engineers to improve models that predict the effect of insulin and meals on glucose levels, yielding better control of blood sugar levels.

Furthermore, Livongo Health is using big data enabled approach to help people manage their health and improve lifestyle. A number of people are using their innovative products including blood glucose meters, blood pressure cuffs, and scales, which has an extra edge of collecting data and send it to a larger database. This is subsequently used by the company to generate comprehensive insights for benefit of patients.

Smart Pens

We are now surrounded by a world full of smart gadgets that are making our life easier and advanced. With an addition of smart lexicon which is a smart insulin pen, the technology has catered to the population suffering from diabetes illness. The device is capable of recording the amount and timing of each insulin dose administered by the device itself. It then transmits the information wirelessly to a linked mobile app.

Leveraging the tracking capabilities of the smart gadget, the interface lets the patient keep a track of insulin doses. They can also share the data with care givers and health care professionals. The data tracking ability of smart pen has developed an even better care ecosystem for diabetes patients.

Robotics

In cases of diabetes in children, maintaining healthy diet with kids becomes extremely challenging. To win over such miseries, Belgium-based IDLabhas demonstrated how robots can help. The demonstration depicts how a home robot working in conjunction with a connected cooking device like mealhero's can help people with diabetes watch their carbohydrate intake and regulate their insulin accordingly. As a proof of concept, the robot provides a "friendly" interface to guide the child or whomever through a meal planning process. As noted by a report, a product like mealhero works in this scenario because it has a standardized set of ingredients that are shipped individually and its connected cooking device automatically cooks the food.