Diabetes prevalence is rapidly increasing in the world. The number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. Considering the size of the problem, you must all have seen or maybe used a glucose monitor. So, how does it work?
Blood glucose level is kept in check in the body by a hormone called insulin, produced by the pancreas. Unstable insulin levels in blood may cause excess glucose to be converted to fat and be deposited on your blood vessels as plaque. This may cause various complications such as cardio-vascular disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, eye damage among a lot of other complications.
Researchers working at Purdue University and Princeton University have developed a proof-of-concept device, called MedMon, that blocks hackers from hijacking or interfering with wireless medical devices, like pacemakers, insulin pumps, or brain implants. The researchers were motivated to work on the problem after discovering how easy it was for hackers to break into current wireless medical systems.
The researchers believe that hundreds of thousands of people using wireless insulin pumps or wireless-enabled pacemakers are currently vulnerable. Other devices, not yet in the market, like brain implants that manage epilepsy and “smart prosthetics” could also be hacked. Despite the potential for hacking, the researchers admit the chances that any given would be hacked is low.
Medtronic, Inc. announced the international market launch of CareLink(R) Pro 3 Therapy Management Software, the first software program to offer advanced decision support to healthcare professionals managing diabetes. The software analyzes data from a patient’s insulin pump, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, and blood glucose meter to identify the most important patient information in one easy-to-use dashboard. In addition, the software offers therapy considerations that clinicians can use as a starting point to discuss therapy changes with their patients to help improve glucose control.
