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A new EU collaborative research project has been granted €7.1m to develop a personalised blood glucose prediction tool aimed at improving the lives of diabetes patients.
The grant award, made under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Community, will fund a four-year research and development project into the ‘DIAdvisor’ portable glucose prediction system.
Coordinated by diabetes specialists, Novo Nordisk, the project will be delivered by a consortium of 13 medical, industrial and academic partners, including the European region of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the UK’s Toumaz Technology.
Toumaz’s COO and co-founder, Keith Errey, told E-Health Europe: “The development of the Personal Glucose Predictive Diabetes Advisor (DIAdvisor) is aimed at providing insulin dependent patients with much greater control in managing their condition.
Current diabetes management techniques are restricted to the analysis of blood glucose history, with almost no ability to predict what blood glucose levels might be in several hours’ time.
DIAdvisor will make predictions of blood glucose levels using current glucose measurements, insulin delivery data and specific patient parameters, to allow patients to actively and accurately predict their short-term blood glucose outlook.
Toumaz’s role in the project will be to implement the DIAdvisor hardware and software platform, using the Sensium platform and networking infrastructure to enable multiple vital signs measurements from non-intrusive body-worn monitors.
The wirelessly collected data will help scientists to perform mathematical modeling and control and prediction algorithms, with the resulting analysis and prediction information wirelessly transmitted to a healthcare provider advisory service. Recommended action and treatment advice will then be presented to the patient via a handheld mobile device such as a PDA.
First stage data gathering and clinical trials are planned to start in August 2008, with initial data expected by the end of the year.
“Insulin-treated diabetes is one of the most difficult therapies to manage, because of the difficulty in actively predicting glucose levels… this exciting collaborative project delivers a gathering of the most eminent experts in the fields of medicine, healthcare, science and technology to enable the creation of a totally unique system to improve diabetes control, optimise therapy, and ensure better qualify of life for the large populations of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients,” comments Dr Alison Burdett, director of technology for Toumaz Technology.
“With DIAdvisor, we will be putting a sophisticated treatment advisor in the hands of patients for the first time, empowering them in their own healthcare management and significantly reducing the likelihood of serious complications and recurrent hospitalisation due to poor glucose control,” she added.
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