[Diabetes-talk] Diabetes Management and Driving

[David Andrews]

FYI:

Who knew that monitoring would  involve going to your car.  So maybe 
the blind driver challenge will have a double payoff (smile.)

Dave


>Medtronic aims to monitor diabetes while you drive     By JANET 
>MOORE,  Star Tribune        Diabetics and their caregivers know that 
>constant monitoring of their blood glucose levels is critical to 
>managing the disease -- even while driving. In an unusual 
>partnership, Fridley-based Medtronic Inc. and Ford have developed 
>voice-controlled in-car connections for drivers to monitor their 
>blood glucose levels. A prototype released Wednesday in Detroit 
>allows the automaker's in-car infotainment system, called Sync, to 
>connect via Bluetooth to a Medtronic continuous glucose monitoring 
>device, sharing glucose levels and trends. If the levels are too 
>low, an alert is sounded. Constant knowledge and control of glucose 
>levels is critical for diabetics to avoid hypoglycemia, or low 
>glucose, which can cause confusion, light-headedness, blurry vision 
>and other potentially dangerous symptoms. Nearly 26 million adults 
>and children are currently living with diabetes in the United 
>States, according to the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes in 
>particular is a chronic disease where frequent monitoring of blood 
>glucose levels throughout the day is critical," said James Dallas, 
>senior vice president of Medtronic. By utilizing information 
>technology and consumer electronic devices, we can help patients 
>actively manage their health via access to real-time data on phones, 
>hand-held devices or even in their cars. The technology is still in 
>the research stage, according to Ford. Medtronic's $1.2 billion 
>diabetes business is based in California. A cornerstone product is 
>the continuous glucose monitor, which alerts patients when their 
>glucose is too high or too low. That information enables the patient 
>to make adjustments on insulin intake with the company's diabetes 
>monitor. Janet Moore   612-673-7752         2011 Star Tribune. All 
>rights reserved.               .