Medtronic and IBM Watson Health launched a new feature for its Sugar.IQ personal diabetes assistant app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology from IBM Watson Health to predict the likelihood of an individual experiencing a low glucose event.
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“Hypoglycemia, or ‘going low’, is one of the most acute and frightening events that a person living with diabetes can experience,” Dr. Lisa Latts, deputy chief health officer at IBM Watson Health, said in prepared remarks. “Fueled by the right data, AI and machine learning can play a powerful role in helping to alleviate the burden of diabetes and the worry of a hypoglycemic event, and we’ve built the new IQcast features with this goal in mind.”
The new feature, called IQcast, tells users whether they have a low, medium or high chance of dropping below the target blood glucose range within the next 1 to 4 hours. These individual-specific predictions are generated by analyzing data collected through Sugar.IQ app and the Guardian Connect device, reports MobiHealthNews.
The degree of predictive accuracy that IQcast is able to achieve increases as a low blood sugar event becomes more imminent.
Both Medtronic and IBM Watson Health have been dedicated to advancing the science behind predicting potential hypoglycemia since the beginning of the partnership.
“Simply put, IQcast acts like a weather forecast for people with diabetes so they can better prepare for their day,” said Dr. Robert Vigersky, senior director, Medical & Clinical Affairs for Diabetes Group at Medtronic. “By predicting the likelihood of a low glucose event from anywhere between 1 and 4 hours in advance, IQcast empowers people on multiple daily injections (MDI) with insights so they can live their life with greater freedom and better health.”
Medtronic and IBM are a part of a growing movement to implement artificial intelligence into diabetes management, but they aren’t the only ones. Google recent launched an AI program in Thailand that screens diabetic patient’s for eye disease. Machine learning has recently been used in many diagnostic processes including cancer cell identification, cardiovascular disease, and visual deficiencies.
The Sugar.IQ app is currently available in the App Store for free download.
