The founder of AkibaH contacted me recently, and I checked out the product they developed on their IndieGogo page. I really like the idea, and the look of it! See what you think…
GluCase is the world’s first smartphone case that contains an entire glucose testing kit
San Jose, Calif. (December 10, 2015) – AkibaH is a Techstars company focused on harnessing the power of mobile health technology and data science to give people the knowledge and recommended actions to live longer and healthier lives. AkibaH recently announced the launch of its premier product, GluCase, via the crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo.
GluCase is the world’s first smartphone case glucometer, helping people with diabetes monitor their sugar levels and share that information directly with their endocrinologist and care team. The case serves as an all-in-one solution for individuals who are forced to contend with products that are inconvenient and difficult to use.
GluCase uses a patent-pending technology that takes all the components of a traditional glucose measuring system and seamlessly integrates them into a compact smartphone case. The case combines disposable lancets, test strips and an embedded glucose meter, eliminating the need to carry bulky meters, testing supplies and logbooks.
The case communicates with a mobile application and physician dashboard to present glucose levels in context of other information such as activity and diet, giving users and caretakers the ability to see how their decisions impact their health in real time. All communication within the platform is encrypted and HIPAA compliant, with privacy control settings to guard personal information. The sensor, mobile application and cloud platform are built with the user in mind, making it easy to collect the information, read your results and immediately see how your lifestyle affects your health. “GluCase will go a long way toward enhancing convenience and compliance for people with diabetes which in turn will improve outcomes which is the goal consistent with our health care providers and payers,” says AkibaH CEO Larry Ellingson and former Chairman of the American Diabetes Association.
Interesting idea, but a lot of hurdles to overcome. For me, it’s a non-starter because my meter integrates with my pump. Overall though, my view is that the fundamental premise of sending test data to your endo is flawed.
FWIW here are the areas that jump out at me (maybe I’m too cynical!):
Size? - makes the smartphone too bulky
Lancet?
Communicates with my endo office, so they can give advice? - That’s sadly laughable when I envision a practice with say 100 diabetics each sending 4 - 12 test results per day. Even if there was an algorithm that reduced the advice to some out of range readings, I would think it would be overwhelming to the office and a PITA for the diabetic to receive “advice” based on a meter reading.
Strips? - Which ones, how many does it hold, is there a counter to let me know how many are left, etc.
I’m mildly positive about condensing some of the diabetes paraphernalia and this device does combine the phone, meter, lancet, and strip supply. Since it is a phone, it makes sense that it can communicate the BG results. Like @YogaO, I find the value of that function questionable. The typical endo bandwidth is very narrow. I think they are struggling to keep up with single-session downloads of meters, pumps, and CGMs 4x/year.
As nice as it may sound, I do not want a diabetes safety net. It comes at too great a cost to my personal autonomy. In a perfect world, if I could clone my skill and mindset, it might work providing unusual amounts of attentiveness and respect. I think even well-communicating spouses would have trouble managing a stream of live BG data. It’s fraught with all kinds of relationship peril. Even though the intent is to add to my personal safety, in the end it feels like a creepy Big Brother 1984 set-up.
As to the burden of carrying my supplies with me everywhere, it’s not that big a deal to me. I’ve been doing it for so long, it doesn’t seem burdensome. When I get my Dexcom G5 system set up, I won’t leave the receiver behind even thought my iPhone can approximately replace it. That small receiver does not complicate my life that much.
The system that makes real gains with simplifying the life of PWD is the Abbott Freestyle Libre flash glucose monitor. It is rated accurate enough to use its number to make treatment decisions. The skin attached sensor and hand-held reader effectively replace a blood glucose meter, lancet, strips, and used strip collection. That’s the kind of simplification that’s attractive to me. It’s not available in the US but I look forward to its introduction here.
