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Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

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Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#51

Post by acoster »

templaedhel wrote: post #6

As a type 1 diabetic I'm super excited to see apple working in this space, even if they're focusing it on type 2 to start (a logical move, considering there is something like 30x more type 2 diabetics in the US). I think making it easier to track glucose levels in real time is the number one thing that can be done to improve quality of life for both types of diabetics. The "CGM" (continuous glucose monitor) has reall…

My partner is type 1 diabetic, and CGMs were a game changer for her (they started rolling out in Switzerland last year).

She's been using the FreeStyle Libre (https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/), which uses NFC and on select markets has an Android app available, but here we still have to use the handheld reader.

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#52

Post by zurn »

cperciva wrote: post #12

Apple appears to be working on blood glucose monitoring as a way to address Type 2 Diabetes. Either the article is very wrong, or Apple is doing something very cute here. Type 2 diabetics do check their blood glucose -- occasionally. For non-insulin-using diabetics (aka. most type 2s) medical plans typically cover less than one test per day, because the evidence is that testing more frequently doesn't accomplish anyt…

An effective population-level way to address type 2 diabetes could be dietary feedback from glucose levels, for pre-diabetic people.

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#53

Post by tomelders »

I really can see an ever increasing shelf in Apple stores that stocks medical monitoring devices, compatible with the Apple Watch and iPhone.

And if I'm to be almost offensively practical, this is a huge business opportunity. We're all hypochondriacs to some degree, and it's a market that's currently being served by some pretty dodgy outfits, offering magic bullet solutions. And the incumbents are making a ton of money. It's probably not a good idea to give people tools to self diagnose themselves on a daily basis. But it's inevitable, and a logical path for the consumer electronics industry to follow.

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#54

Post by CositaS »

acoster wrote: post #51
templaedhel wrote: post #6

As a type 1 diabetic I'm super excited to see apple working in this space, even if they're focusing it on type 2 to start (a logical move, considering there is something like 30x more type 2 diabetics in the US). I think making it easier to track glucose levels in real time is the number one thing that can be done to improve quality of life for both types of diabetics. The "CGM" (continuous glucose monitor) has reall…

My partner is type 1 diabetic, and CGMs were a game changer for her (they started rolling out in Switzerland last year). She's been using the FreeStyle Libre ( https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/ ), which uses NFC and on select markets has an Android app available, but here we still have to use the handheld reader.

I find the non-official Android Libre reader app 'Glimp' useful. Even though I have the official one, I keep both installed, because Glimp does less smoothing/extrapolation of the readings.

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#55

Post by pimeys »

acoster wrote: post #51
templaedhel wrote: post #6

As a type 1 diabetic I'm super excited to see apple working in this space, even if they're focusing it on type 2 to start (a logical move, considering there is something like 30x more type 2 diabetics in the US). I think making it easier to track glucose levels in real time is the number one thing that can be done to improve quality of life for both types of diabetics. The "CGM" (continuous glucose monitor) has reall…

My partner is type 1 diabetic, and CGMs were a game changer for her (they started rolling out in Switzerland last year). She's been using the FreeStyle Libre ( https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/ ), which uses NFC and on select markets has an Android app available, but here we still have to use the handheld reader.

I seriously recommend testing xDrip+ with the Libre. Better results and you don't need to carry an extra reader device with you all the time:

https://github.com/NightscoutFoundation/xDrip

Pull requests are welcome too :)

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#56

Post by ferongr »

pimeys wrote: post #20
templaedhel wrote: post #6

As a type 1 diabetic I'm super excited to see apple working in this space, even if they're focusing it on type 2 to start (a logical move, considering there is something like 30x more type 2 diabetics in the US). I think making it easier to track glucose levels in real time is the number one thing that can be done to improve quality of life for both types of diabetics. The "CGM" (continuous glucose monitor) has reall…

Here in Germany the Dexcom G4 system with Animas Vibe insulin pump became fully covered by the health insurance last November and a couple of weeks ago I got my system working. It is a pretty amazing improvement to my life: both the pump and CGM. The G4 transmitter has a 2.4 GHz radio and I built an extra device with Wixel and Bluetooth to transfer the data so my Android phone so xDrip+ and my Android watch can displ…

Europe is not a country. I'd wager less prosperous countries do not cover such devices.

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#57

Post by emdowling »

cperciva wrote: post #29
emdowling wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think your use of the word "cute" is a bit disingenuous and at odds with the conclusion you draw. "Cute" implies misleading, whereas the scenario you outline isn't misleading at all. It makes total sense to start where they are starting; they'll get teams of data in a very short space of time (from diabetics and non-diabetics alike) and be able to iterate quite quickly from there. As a non-diabetic, I want this so…

Well, I think it is cute, in that I'm sure every type 1 diabetic who can afford it will immediately buy one of these -- whether they're FDA approved or not.

I would hope that Type 1 diabetics wouldn't get this and being relying on it 100% without consulting their doctor and reading appropriate literature. Apple is also way too visible to be misleading on this.

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#58

Post by ekianjo »

akg_67 wrote: post #32
ekianjo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you cure them, no more cash This is pretty shortsighted. Because: - it's not like you would cure everyone at once anyway - there are always people who will develop the disease eventually so you can always make money in the long run - if you are the only effective treatment you can pretty much make the price you want, and collect massive profits that can be invested in the develop of other drugs or solutions. Nev…

You might want to look into Gensym (sp?) and their Hepatitis cure. The company got a big boost when they released the cure but now they are being pummeled by the market and analysts as the need for their cure is declining (fewer cases). There is no money in cure, money is in turning medical issues into chronic diseases. US pharma research is focused on chronic management and not cure. When was the last time a cure or…

> There is no money in cure

That's also because state put caps as to how much vaccines are supposed to cost, which makes them less profitable than they should be. However if you were to consider the cost of a one-time vaccine versus treating some illness for the rest of your life, it's expected consumers would go for the vaccine unless it's prohibitively expensive.

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#59

Post by aedron »

Apple's recent obsession with health monitoring is weird from a branding standpoint. Losing appeal with young people is the nightmare of any technology company, becoming known as that gadget for geriatrics is another level of dejection.

I read that this focus is particularly driven by Tim Cook's fascination with the space. It sort of confirms my idea of him as not a very image conscious CEO, especially in contrast with Jobs who was a legend at imbuing Apple with coolness and desirability.

Re: Apple Monitoring Blood Glucose

#60

Post by _eht »

aedron wrote: post #59

Apple's recent obsession with health monitoring is weird from a branding standpoint. Losing appeal with young people is the nightmare of any technology company, becoming known as that gadget for geriatrics is another level of dejection. I read that this focus is particularly driven by Tim Cook's fascination with the space. It sort of confirms my idea of him as not a very image conscious CEO, especially in contrast wi…

I think it could be Apple moving with it's current market demographic. I started out an apple fan boy in highschool. I waited in line for iPhones religiously and insisted all my and my family's laptops were MacBooks. Now I'm old (31) and hitting the range where my doctor starts mentioning baseline cardiac physicals and other regimated health tests that just come with age (I'm healthy, BTW).

If the idea is to cater to the shifting age if it's fanboys it may be a great play. The young generation moves from obsession with Emojis and Instagram to having diabetes and heart disease pretty quick. Why not cater to the shift when you already have the customer. 3M isn't making glucose testing sexy like only Apple can.

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