Working toward the goal of unifying patients’ diabetic treatment information in a single place, the PositiveID Corporation hopes to patent a new device that monitors insulin pens. The Insulin Tracker would attach to a user’s insulin pen and record the times and amounts of injections. That information would then be sent to a database that allows for comprehensive monitoring. Insulin pens come in disposable and cartridge-replaceable flavors; the tracker can be moved easily from one pen to another.
Positive ID has already developed the iGlucose system, which will work with patients’ blood glucose meters to collect their test results. The information then goes through SMS text messaging to an online database. The Insulin Tracker data will add a critical component to the data, allowing for a wide-ranging view of a diabetic’s treatment regimen.
The company began working on the insulin-tracking device in the second quarter of this year. According to PositiveID chairman and CEO Scott Silverman, the goal is making it easier for diabetics to collect the broad swaths of data necessary for good control.
“Due to the cumbersome nature of manually recording blood glucose levels, insulin dosages and the appropriate dates and times for each, many patients’ diabetes logs are incomplete or even nonexistent, which directly impacts patient compliance,” Silverman said.
“We believe the addition of the Insulin Tracker functionality to the iGlucose system will enable us to provide a complete solution for insulin-dependent diabetics, helping them automate the time-consuming process of manually tracking insulin data and glucose levels, thereby providing more complete health records.”
The company’s data collection system works independently of any brand of glucose meter and does not require a computer, internet access or even a cell phone.
The company is keeping its eyes on Medicare requirements, too. According to its website, the iGlucose device “is the first of its kind to address the Medicare requirement for durable medical equipment manufacturers and pharmacies to maintain glucose level logs and records for the millions of high-frequency diabetes patients.”
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