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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 5 | Page : 1-2 |
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Diabetes technologies: The solution to challenges in care
Jothydev Kesavadev
Jothydev's Diabetes Research Centre, Kerala, India
| Date of Web Publication | 28-Feb-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Jothydev Kesavadev
Jothydev's Diabetes Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
How to cite this article:
Kesavadev J. Diabetes technologies: The solution to challenges in care. Int J Diabetes Technol 2022;1, Suppl S1:1-2 |
How to cite this URL:
Kesavadev J. Diabetes technologies: The solution to challenges in care. Int J Diabetes Technol [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 Jun 7];1, Suppl S1:1-2. Available from: http://www.ijdt.com/text.asp?2022/1/5/1/338773 |
Advancements in technologies have resulted in an incredible transformation in every walk of life. For complex metabolic diseases such as diabetes, which affects around 537 million subjects globally, the success can only be achieved by means of adaptable, easy-to-use, and evidence-based technology. A 15-year-old boy with Type 1 diabetes once asked me, “The world is exalting driverless cars, why are you people ignoring us?” I was speechless for a moment. He is probably right; if one can manage an automobile without a driver, won't it be less sophisticated to implement automation in managing the challenging scenarios in diabetes, if given serious thoughts? The delay, would perhaps have happened due to the lag in successful partnership between engineering experts and physicians.
Diabetes management fails in around 50%–95% of patients, and it is high time for the transition from conventional diabetes care to digitalized diabetes care. In addition to optimizing glucose levels and variability, diabetes technologies can ease complex decision-making and thus reduce the cognitive and emotional burden of diabetes self-management.[1] The past 10 years have witnessed rapid advances in diabetes technology. Unfortunately, patients find it prohibitively expensive or burdensome or are unaware of its existence and may face debilitating complications. There is a need to explore the reasons for failure and find viable solutions for the same.[2]
Patients have been in the prolonged wait for more than 100 years ever since the discovery of insulin for automating its delivery. If the physicians, device manufacturers and the scientists are not doing this, the patients will. Examples include patient-driven technologies such as #WeAreNotWaiting, which is a rallying cry of the Type 1 diabetes community; Do-It-Yourself Artificial Pancreas; and mobile health applications such as “mySugr,” a very popular application which was developed by a Type 1 diabetes patient himself.[3] The burgeon of successful technologies in diabetes has been phenomenal in the last 10 years compared to the past 100 years.[4]
As a clinician and researcher, I had the fortune of using and exploring most of these technological advancements, from CGMS Gold to Guardian Connect, from the standalone insulin pumps to the sensor-augmented pumps to the most recent stage 4 of Automated Insulin Delivery devices.[5] Unfortunately, most of these exciting, lifesaving innovations are restrictively expensive for ordinary people with diabetes.[6] Exception is a handful of developed countries, where the eligible patients could get them from the government or through insurance.[7] But concurrently, with the increasing popularity in technological progress, the competition in the field is also expanding and lifesaving technologies have become cheaper and more affordable day by day.[8]
The International Journal of Diabetes and Technology (IJDT), is a humble attempt to facilitate further research and rapid dissemination of knowledge, skills, and technologies in diabetes among health care providers, information technology experts, and policymakers from all over the world. The IJDT editorial board is comprised of a global team of eminent experts. IJDT is not just confined to diabetes technology alone but is also open to publications related to diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
The discovery of electricity,telephone and television have made life easier and more fruitful; similarly, path-breaking technological innovations in diabetes is meant to gift people with diabetes, a life without complications and eventually, bring down the overall cost of care. We believe that, this dream will become a reality only with further exploration and research, exclusively in diabetes technology. Let's join hands in our journey forward.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Zimmerman C, Albanese-O'Neill A, Haller MJ. Advances in type 1 diabetes technology over the last decade. Eur Endocrinol 2019;15:70-6.  |
| 2. | Polonsky WH, Henry RR. Poor medication adherence in type 2 diabetes: Recognizing the scope of the problem and its key contributors. Patient Prefer Adherence 2016;10:1299-307. |
| 3. | Litchman ML, Walker HR, Fitzgerald C, Gomez Hoyos M, Lewis D, Gee PM. Patient-driven diabetes technologies: Sentiment and personas of the #WeAreNotWaiting and #OpenAPS movements. J Diabetes Sci Technol 2020;14:990-9. |
| 4. | Crocket H. Peer mentoring in the do-it-yourself artificial pancreas system community. J Diabetes Sci Technol 2020;14:1022-7. |
| 5. | Kesavadev J, Srinivasan S, Saboo B, Krishna MB, Krishnan G. The do-it-yourself artificial pancreas: A comprehensive review. Diabetes Ther 2020;11:1217-35. |
| 6. | Kesavadev J, Misra A, Saboo B, Agarwal S, Sosale A, Joshi SR, et al. Time-in-range and frequency of continuous glucose monitoring: Recommendations for South Asia. Diabetes Metab Syndr Clin Res Rev 2021;16:102345. |
| 7. | Kesavadev J, Saboo B, Krishna MB, Krishnan G. Evolution of insulin delivery devices: From syringes, pens, and pumps to DIY artificial pancreas. Diabetes Ther 2020;11:1251-69. |
| 8. | Kesavadev J, Saboo B, Shankar A, Krishnan G, Jothydev S. Telemedicine for diabetes care: An Indian perspective – Feasibility and efficacy. Indian J Endocrinol Metab 2015;19:764-9. |
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