Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
For about a month, Tabb Firchau, an entrepreneur living in Seattle, has been wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a federally approved medical device that tracks blood sugar levels for people with diabetes. The CGM patch has a small needle that probes the inside of his arm, and a sensor that tracks changes to his blood sugar in real-time. The data is then sent to his smartphone.
Firchau bought his CGM off eBay for about $300. “I track almost everything, from sleep to exercise,” says Firchau. “I’ve been trying to learn why some days I feel fantastic, and other days I don’t. I had a cinnamon roll recently and my blood glucose doubled in 60 minutes. The monitor helps you understand the costs of the decisions you are making.”
He couldn’t get one from his doctor, because Firchau doesn’t actually have diabetes. Rather, he’s part of a small but growing group of people who are wearing CGMs to track—and then hack—what goes on in their own bodies. And if enterprising startups like Sano Intelligence, which Gizmodo wrote about in February, are successful, a CGM marketed to the general public may not that be far off.
http://time.com/4703099/continuous-glucose-monitor-blood-sugar-diabetes/
It would be interesting if a CGM for the general public would significantly lower costs and make them more financially viable for those who actually need them. I'd suspect though that only a small market would be created, and the people wouldn't need to use them for long.
Firchau bought his CGM off eBay for about $300. “I track almost everything, from sleep to exercise,” says Firchau. “I’ve been trying to learn why some days I feel fantastic, and other days I don’t. I had a cinnamon roll recently and my blood glucose doubled in 60 minutes. The monitor helps you understand the costs of the decisions you are making.”
He couldn’t get one from his doctor, because Firchau doesn’t actually have diabetes. Rather, he’s part of a small but growing group of people who are wearing CGMs to track—and then hack—what goes on in their own bodies. And if enterprising startups like Sano Intelligence, which Gizmodo wrote about in February, are successful, a CGM marketed to the general public may not that be far off.
http://time.com/4703099/continuous-glucose-monitor-blood-sugar-diabetes/
It would be interesting if a CGM for the general public would significantly lower costs and make them more financially viable for those who actually need them. I'd suspect though that only a small market would be created, and the people wouldn't need to use them for long.
