Dreamz

Author: arun

Novo Spes aims at providing every one of the 40 million diabetics a personal diabetes monitoring and management solution. The product called Glucawatch comprises of a wrist worn continuous glucose monitoring device and an online diabetes support and consultancy program .The wrist device will provide the user with a high/low indication of the user's glucose level thus keeping a continuous watch. It will alert the user whenever the glucose level crosses the thresholds.

A tiny glucose‐sensing biosensor will be inserted just under the skin of user's abdomen. The insertion will be quick and painless. The sensor continuously monitors the interstitial fluid glucose and outputs the data to the wrist worn display device wirelessly.

Combined with the Glucawatch is a service called Dr. Gluca which intends at giving the users a complete medical support wherein they will find themselves monitored by the best in the business. The users will just have to maintain a log on their medical profile on the net or via telephone which will enable our team of doctors to provide them with medical advice in the comfort of their homes. The doctor will be in a position to prescribe insulin dosage, required tests and anything else that may be needed. This means minimal visits to the diabetologist in town, saving both money and time. Not only this, the online support forum will give the users an opportunity to interact and get in touch with other diabetics, thus providing them not only advice from their peers but also a sense of belonging to a community.

Right now in India continuous glucose monitoring systems are still a thing of the future. Besides any such device available abroad costs a fortune because of the way the technology is being implemented in them. A point to be noted here is that knowing the specific blood glucose value at all times is not necessary for a diabetic but what's more important is keeping it in the safe zone. The devices that are available right now measure the exact blood glucose levels whereas Glucawatch uses polling and compares the results with the limits of the safe zone continuously. Thus Glucawatch serves the purpose without complicating the technology allowing us to have technologically simpler sensor resulting in much lower cost of production. As far as Dr.Gluca is concerned it is the first of its kind dedicated exclusively to diabetics in the market right now.

India has the second largest number of diabetics second only to china, of which 10% are type I. The distribution between rural and urban areas is 75:25.The annual expenditure of a family on one diabetic per year ranges from 22% on an average varying from 59% in the low socioeconomic group, 32% in the middle socioeconomic group, 18% in the upper middle income group and 12% in the high‐income group. Glucawatch fits in very well in the socioeconomic picture of the diabetics in India. The fact that it is cheaper than any such product abroad along with it being a unique product in Indian market makes it a perfect choice.

Right now an Indian customer uses a blood glucometer, which is an invasive device and the cost of using it comes to around Rs.5k + Rs.500/month. In contrast a glucawatch user will be able to monitor his/her glucose levels for about Rs.15k(expected) + Rs.250/month not to mention the fact that it will monitor the glucose levels 24X7. The product will be subject to approval by the Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and this may take some time due to the rapid research in this bio sensor field. The product will have to go through intense research and testing, to eliminate any discrepancies in the glucose levels shown

Glucawatch

Right now in India continuous glucose monitoring systems are still a thing of the future. If an Indian wishes to get a continuous glucose measurement device his only option is to get it from abroad. The only issue is that any such device available abroad costs a fortune because of the fact that most of them are usually integrated with an insulin pump which, as the recent researches have shown, don't work properly in the Indian environmental conditions. And those that come without are also expensive because of the way technology is used in them. An important point to ponder here is that for a diabetic knowing the exact blood glucose level is not essential but what is more important is to keep the glucose levels in the safe zone. So now a question comes up that do we actually have to spend so much for something that is not absolutely necessary?

Working: The device will consist of a sensor that will be inserted inside the body with the help of an inserter attached to a receptor, which will be connected wirelessly to the display unit. The sensor is an organic molecule that has receptor sites for the glucose molecules. So whenever a glucose molecule attaches to it energy is released in this process and this energy is radiated in the form of infrared rays which penetrate the flesh and skin to be received by the receiver. This information is then transferred to the display unit. The concentration of these rays are then compared with the pre-calibrated values to check whether or not the glucose values have crossed the thresholds. So as soon as the glucose levels cross the thresholds an alarm will be triggered indicating the same to the user.

Advantages:

Continuous glucose measurement is much more reliable and helpful in blood glucose control.
The memory element will store all the data relating to the timings of occurance of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia which will then be added to your medical history whenever the user connects the device to an internet enabled platform.
The user can himself chart out his/her blood glucose variations and thus alter the insulin dosage accordingly.
The non-obtrusive aesthetically appealing design of glucawatch makes it a rather trendy object to wear.
Its lower cost compared to any such product available in the market makes it the right choice for a smart buyer.
Easier to use and adapted exclusively for the Indian conditions.