EASD 2015: Dexcom G5 in Europe; apps for automatic carb counting

A lot of exciting news are coming these days from Stockholm, where EASD 2015 takes place. This is one of the biggest diabetes events of the year, with presentations of the latest research and technology — not to be missed by anyone interested in the field. We are following the event online and are happy to share the most interesting findings with you.

Dexcom G5 is now approved in Europe

Dexcom received CE mark for their Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitoring system. Dexcom G5 will be released in selected EU countries in the following weeks:

• United Kingdom
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Switzerland
• Sweden

Dexcom G5 system can communicate directly with a smartphone.

iOS version in 2015, Android in 2016.

With proper calibration, Dexcom is now approved for insulin dosing:

Dexcom and Google partnership

Dexcom’s sensor technology will be combined with Google’s expertise in miniaturizing electronic components.

The goal is to “develop a simple, low-cost disposable body-worn sensor system integrated into an advanced data analytics platform to drive entry into Type 2 market and to expand CGM use in Type 1 market.”

Future plans of Dexcom

Artificial intelligence app for carb counting

Roche presented a prototype of a new app — it automatically recognizes food, estimates carbs and calculates how to bolus for it.

The app is called GoCarb — the project started in 2011 and is funded by the European Commission’s FP7 programme and the Bern University Hospital. Partners of the consortium: University of Bern (Switzerland), Roche Germany and Roche USA.

This is how the app works: the app captures 2 images of the plate from different angles, detects boundaries of the plate, runs segmentation to separate food items, recognizes food, creates a 3D model of the plate to estimate food volume, and extracts carbohydrate (CHO) information. There is published research on this (example).

Another carb counting app

Another app for carb counting was mentioned, this one by mHealthSys, Inc.

Mobile diabetes empowerment system w/ automatic food recognition and portioning, sensor data aggregation, action planning and coaching

Glimpse of a new tool by Sanofi

When describing its new solution for diabetes management, Sanofi mentioned their software system for setting daily basal dose for new insulin users.

The software system contains:

• healthcare provider window
• patient window
• a cloud server for data exchange

The server hosts a “titration” algorithm for increasing of the basal dose to reach fasting glucose targets. Software sets parameters from 3 existing titration algorithms. Patient enters fasting glucose and runs a “dose helper” to calculate basal dose. Healthcare provider trains their patients to use the tool and reviews their dose/glucose data.

Big opportunities for diabetes smartphone apps

Data and smartphones were one of the recurring topics. In 2014, only 1,2% of diabetics that had a smartphone used a diabetes app — there is a lot of potential in the field.