“ It is time”! Yes,time for a manufacturer to make a cgm and pump FULLY accessible to a person who is blind.
As diabetes is a leading cause of blindness it is time to make this happen. How to make this happen? Nancy
1 Like
Allowing the cgm/pump to be used/controlled from a phone which has accessibility features is possibly a practical approach.
NIH: Usability of Medical Devices for Patients With Diabetes Who Are Visually Impaired or Blind
Abstract
The estimation is that every third to fourth patient with diabetes suffers from some degree of diabetic retinopathy. Medical products for insulin administration (such as insulin pens and pumps) or glucose monitoring not optimized to the needs of these patients’ represent a high barrier for optimal diabetes therapy in daily practice. To date, the number of devices suitable for visually impaired and blind patients with diabetes is scarce. This manuscript outlines the specific needs of this patient group with regard to systems for insulin administration, blood glucose measurement, and continuous glucose monitoring. We see the clear need for a policy requirement for manufacturers to provide accessible/user friendly technical aids for visually impaired and blind patients with diabetes. This would represent an important step toward improving the situation for this impressively large patient group.
1 Like
Yes, I think the cellphone integration is the most likely scenario in the end. This does depend on the company making their app accessible. There are reports of the Dexcom app being accessible with VoiceOver (at least the current glucose reading, but likely not the directional arrows or the trend graphs). There are other apps, such as the one used with the Contour Next One meter, which are totally inaccessible with VoiceOver. It’s crucial that companies make accessibility a priority during the development of their apps if future cellphone-connected pumps and CGMs are going to be fully accessible.