Using technology to kick the butt of type one diabetes
I’m trying to convince myself to sign up for a new, tubed insulin pump through my private health insurance but something is holding me back and it’s got nothing to do with glycemic outcomes. It’s the user interface, device status tracking and interaction features of the open source systems I’ve been using that are just so helpful, it is hard to give them up.
As a former psychosocial health and tech usability researcher, as well as a user of diabetes technology myself, I couldn’t help but be blown away at ATTD 2024 by the insights diabetes tech companies now have into how we actually use their devices, based on their ability to analyse automatic uploads of our data. In this post I'll cover some of the presentations based on automatic uploads, plus other studies that jumped out at me for their psychosocial implications, during the Advanced Technologies and Treatments in Diabetes conference (ATTD 2024).
Like most people with diabetes, I’ve been wondering how things would go if I was admitted to hospital with COVID19. I've also been thinking about how patient innovated open source solutions might help diabetes health care providers in this difficult time...
"It's more collaborative, less interrogative." The rise of telemedicine in diabetes has given health care providers a chance to reflect on their practice. What aspects of care can we take forward & improve upon in the post COVID-era? ...
When was diabetes ever about joy? How about Fun? Delight? A sense of camaraderie? Everyone needs a pat on the back, a Woo Hoo! and a hand to lift them up when they're feeling down. Reassurance that we're in this together. As humans, we're programmed with a need to belong. But so much of diabetes care, … Continue reading Designing Joy into diabetes apps
Reading through the latest COVID-19 diabetes statistics from the UK/NHS , I'm reminded that I'm in a much stronger position today with my blood glucose levels than I was two years ago. Thanks to DIYAPS. I'm not about to kid myself that I'm invincible - far from it - But it's sobering to realise that if I … Continue reading COVID-19: Today’s diabetes therapy is tomorrow’s outcome data
Medtronic paradigm (522) & Ypsomed Ypsomed and Dexcom have just announced their partnership (4 May 2020) and say a future version of the Ypsomed pump will loop with the TypeZero algorithm, the algorithm used in Tandem's ControlIQ. This partnership is a step forward for a company that says it is committed to patient choice and … Continue reading Ypsomed partners with Dexcom, promises future closed loop using TypeZero algorithm
By Mary Anne Patton It’s hard to write about Ben West without “feeling it deep in the heart” as Weston Nordgren put it so well on Twitter. I've been fascinated by Ben ever since I discovered the lengths he went to to liberate diabetes data over a five year period, starting in 2009. Ben's work, Decocare, … Continue reading Ben West – fixing diabetes, changing the conversation
I sometimes wonder how life would have turned out if Julie really was my diabetic sister. Maybe I never would have thrown the baby out with the bath water? Maybe I never would have felt the need to make the pact? Life turned out pretty well anyway, but it could have been so much easier. For all of … Continue reading My diabetic sister & Dr Montgomery
Ruby was five, in overalls and fairy wings, legs swinging fast beneath the chair that was too high for her. "Would it be ok for Ruby to touch your Dexcom?" her father asked. "Sure," I said, and shimmied over to where Ruby was sitting. She reached over and traced the Dexcom bump through my sleeve. I asked her … Continue reading Ruby
My Artificial Pancreas 