Blood
brothers.
Living
with diabetes means living with daily organisation and preparedness.
Both testing and keeping track of your blood sugar levels can be
difficult; especially for younger sufferers of the disease.
Fortunately there is one new gadget which could help; one we've had
the chance to test. We review the Dario Smartphone Glucose Meter.
For those who aren't familiar with diabetes (and that number, regrettably, is gradually getting smaller), people living with the disease need to keep an constant check on the sugar levels in their blood, or glucose. To do this they need to use a device that both pricks their finger and analyses the small droplet of blood. However, these meters don't often display a lot of information, nor can many track changes to the glucose levels over time. Also, as some are pretty chunky and expensive, it isn't a great idea to give them to children for school. The Dario Smartphone Glucose Meter solves those problems.
The
unit itself is actually very small; not much bigger than a flash
drive in fact. The device contains everything the user needs to take
a blood sample, from the lancing part that painlessly pricks their
fingertip, to a supply of test strips onto which the blood spot is
dabbed. It is then a case of inserting the test strip into the
detachable glucose meter, and then plug that into the headphone port
on your phone.
Yes,
the headphone jack. We were pretty surprised by that, expecting it to
use a Micro USB adaptor instead. But, because of it, the Dario
Smartphone Glucose Meter is compatible with both Apple and Android
phones. All you need is the app.
The
Dario app is what makes the whole system really smart. As well as
displaying immediate levels and info in regards to your blood sample,
the app can also take in data about what food you've eaten, and
therefore suggest the correct amount of insulin to take. All the info
you input, either manually or via the meter, is kept in your personal
logbook; a snapshot of your glucose and health levels. Having all
this in one place in totally invaluable, as you can track changes to
you levels and discover what lifestyle changes affected this.
Crucially
for parents and caregivers, all this data can be shared. The app
uploads the info to a cloud-based server which is accessible to
people to whom you have given permission. Also, Dario users are
welcomed into a community of other people, all using the device. Not
only can you share your info with others, but also swap tales and
stories, as well as encouragement, with everyone.
For
people who live with diabetes, this could completely revolutionise
the way they think about their condition. Small, convenient, and easy
to use, the Dario Smartphone Glucose Meter cleverly utilises the
power of something you already carry around with you every day - your
phone.