7 innovations that are changing the way we manage diabetes, a disease that affects 371 million people worldwide by Lydia Ramsey on Nov 17, 2016, 10:10 AM Advertisement
 It's been almost a century since researchers discovered a way to treat diabetes. Since then, there have been a number of medical and technological advances that aim to make the lives of people living with diabetes — both type 1 and type 2 — more manageable. Around the globe, the group of conditions affects 371 million people worldwide, a number that's expected to increase to 552 million by 2030. From monitoring blood sugar levels — a taxing experience that people with diabetes must grow used to doing every day — to ways that make insulin easier to deliver, here are some of the innovations that are changing the way we manage diabetes. SEE ALSO: The incredible history of insulin, a drug that was discovered almost a century ago DON'T MISS: A 93-year-old drug that can cost more than a mortgage payment tells us everything that's wrong with American healthcare Medtronic created the world's first 'artificial pancreas.'  In September, the FDA approved a device that's often referred to as an "artificial pancreas" for use in people with type 1 diabetes over age 14. The device, made by Medtronic, is called the MiniMed 670G, and it works by automatically monitoring a person's blood sugar levels and administering insulin as needed — no constant checking and injecting required. That way, it can act like a pancreas, the organ in our bodies that in healthy people is able to moderate our blood sugar levels by pumping out insulin that can process the sugars found in food.
Livongo is making a glucose monitor that can get software updates just like your phone.  "No one cares about the technology," Glen Tullman, the CEO of California-based startup Livongo and whose son has Type 1 diabetes, told Business Insider. "They simply want to live their life." On Wednesday, the company launched a glucose monitor that can receive software updates, eliminating the need for people to constantly upgrade to new glucose meters when the technology advances. Livongo also offers the testing strips the machine uses for free by charging employers — companies like Lowes and Office Depot offer Livongo's service as a benefit — a monthly fee.
Bigfoot Biomedical is also building an artificial pancreas.  Bigfoot Biomedical's founder and CEO Jeffrey Brewer was among the first to back the artificial pancreas with a donation to JDRF, a diabetes research organization. But when things weren't moving fast enough, he — along with Bryan Mazlish, the company's chief technology officer — decided to take matters into their own hands and build their own artificial pancreas. Bigfoot bought an insulin pump company, partnered with continuous glucose monitor company Dexcom, and got to work building an artificial pancreas system that could connect to your phone and wouldn't "look like something that should be in the hospital," Brewer told Business Insider. Bigfoot's focus is on the cloud-based technology that surrounds the device. The first trial for the device got underway in July, and the company hopes to get the device on the market in the next few years. Like Livongo, Bigfoot is hoping to offer the system as a monthly service, so instead of paying for the device and its components when they run out, it's all included in a monthly fee.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
| 
0 comments:
Post a Comment