If you have diabetes or know someone who does, you already know how much of a pain testing your blood sugar can be. AkibaH is trying to take some of the pain away with GluCase, an smartphone case that comes with a built-in glucose testing kit. It just launched on Indiegogo with a $50,000 fundraising goal. If you get the case, you still have to draw blood, but now you don't have to take up valuable briefcase real-estate with a bulky kit.
Disposable lancets and test strips fit neatly into the GluCase. An glucose meter is embedded into the case itself, and info is saved in the companion app and physician dashboard. So long as you have the case, you no longer have to worry about clunky meters and cables, test supply packs, or log books. It also means more transparency in communicating with your doctor, since all your stats are shared. Encryption keeps all the health info that's stored in the platform private from prying eyes.
The mobile app shows blood sugar levels in context with activity and diet, so it's not a cold reading. With this info, you can see how sugar affects your health and performance in real time. Wondering why you feel like you've had an encounter with a strigoi? GluCase will make it easy to see where you went wrong, whether you simply ate the wrong food or sat at your desk too long after a heavy meal.
We're all used to heart rate meters and step logging, but health monitoring for conditions like diabetes is the next natural step. AkibaH is inspired by the Swahili proverb "akiba haiozi," which in English, means, "a person with foresight will always know prosperity," so it makes sense that this specialized company decided to look ahead and meet the needs of the 300 million people worldwide with diabetes.
GluCase fits a number of phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S5, S6, S6 Edge, and the Galaxy Note, as well as the iPhone 5, 5S, 6, and 6 Plus. At release there will be an Android and iPhone compatible smartwatch app for GluCase.
However, even if the project meets its funding goal, there is one small catch: the FDA hasn't cleared GluCase yet. After the Indiegogo campaign, AkibaH will submit a proposal for FDA clearance before selling retail to the broader public. If you want to grab one of the first units in September 2016, you can back the campaign here. Early bird backers can get a case for $70 with 20 lancets, 50 strips, and the app.
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