September 22, 2010

iPod Blood Glucose Meter from Sanofi-Aventis & Wavesense.



Sanofi-Aventis announced a BG meter for your iPod / iPhone. Just plugs right in there. This is part of Sanofi-Adventis' working with the creative folks at AgaMatrix aka WaveSense. This scores very high on the cool scale not only for the iPod connection but we here at YDMV central are big WaveSense fans and are excited to see them continue to innovate.  The meter works independently from the iPod. So it is a cool tiny meter in and of itself.

From Sanifi's http://ibgstar.com site:
The innovative iBGStar™ is the first available blood glucose meter that seamlessly connects to the iPhone® and iPod touch® allowing you to view and analyse accurate, reliable information in ‘real time’. Using the technology built into your iPhone® or iPod® touch, you can share this information with your healthcare professional while on-the-go, to help you make better-informed diabetes-related decisions together.

Of course it isn't just a meter. There is an app. From the press release, "The iBGStar™ Diabetes Manager App (available soon on the App Store℠) is a state-of-the-art digital diabetes management tool accessed from your Apple iPhone® or iPod touch® featuring:
  • Intuitive User Interface
  • Automated download of meter results
  • Interactive Diabetes Management Reports featuring log books, trend charts, statistical analyses and more"


The ap sure looks a lot like the WaveSense ap our pal Hadi demo-ed at Friends For Life. (Hadi's brilliant little demo video of the app on a ipad - no groovy iBGsatr meter, he used a cable, is over on theBetesNOW.)

I think this is very exciting. Yes there are practical questions like does it have to come off to charge or sync the iPod? What kind of battery powers the meter and how long does it last? What strips does it use - can it take WaveSense strips or is there a proprietary twist to Sanofi branded AgaMatrix strips? Are there going to be different colors for multiple type 1 families os we can tell who's is who's? How does it deal with iPhone cases? Is there a case that hold it and the phone? Does it work with an iPad? What about multiple meters and one iPod?

OK Ok I know, it just came out and it has to go visit the FDA.

Sill cool. Way cool.

6 comments :

  1. Way cool is right! We would LOVE one of these! We seem to sometimes forget a meter on our outings, but never our phones. Sad I know. It would be a dream if this really worked like we hope!

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  2. But will it plug into my Android phone? ;-)

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  3. does the meter work whilst plugged into the ipod? I was wondering if it work with voice over on my ipd as i am blind. i had to give up my senso card + machine as it is now discontinued and it was replaced with a clever chek machine which is just awful! big bulky nasty sounding machine with too many buttons. I don't know about other blind users of this machine but i found it pretty difficult! Plus knocking it against things in my pocket and bag causes it to turn on and tell everyone on my bus or wherever i am to have a nice day and the likes. embarrassing! bla! I can use my ipod no bother and if it was possible for this new machine to have it's display spoken through the ipod i'd jump for joy! what a clever idea!

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  4. Faulty:

    Great questions. I do not have answers but I will do my best to track them down for you.

    My understanding id that the meter works connected to the iOS device and stand alone. If used disconnected it stores information and then uploads it to the logbook in the iOS device when connected.

    I am fascinated about the potential for use by the blind and will reach out and see what answers i can get for you.

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  5. Thanks Bennet. I tried to contact the company who make the machine but no luck as of yet. I think apple have moved on a good bit and r showing other companies that they can make their newer products accessible and i hope others will follow in their footsteps. I can upload my results from my clever chek to my laptop using a USB lead which is good, havent tried it yet but still hate the machine. LOL.
    Any help would be great.

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  6. My contacts at Sanofi suggested contacting the regular support channels in your home country. That is an FDA approved response in these United States. I cant fault them for following the rules particularly when the rules are not clear and I suspect that asking about use for vision impairment is an off label question. However the iGBStar isn’t in the market yet and so there isn’t a US support channel here yet.

    I am sorry to hear you are not getting a response form Sanofi in you home area. I keep poking around and asking what I can as you raise some great questions and I would love to know the answers too. I suggest you keep asking through different channels. I see you are in Ireland, I have some UK diabetes blogging friends and maybe they can find some some info on your side of the pond. I'll ask round.

    I am not well versed in using voice functions on an iOS device. If you are game for some speculative experiments you could download the wavesense app from the iTunes store. It appears to be the basis for the iBGStar app. You could experiment with it and voice to see what information is supported. I tried and found it did some voice over but having no idea of your situation or how you use the device I can’t speculate it it would be helpful.

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