Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and IBM Watson Health today launched a new feature for its Sugar.IQ personal diabetes assistant app that can predict the likelihood of a user experiencing a low glucose event within a four-hour window.
The feature, called IQcast, uses AI tech from IBM and becomes more accurate as the low blood sugar event draws nearer, according to Medtronic.
The Sugar.IQ app is available for use with Medtronic’s Guardian Connect continuous glucose monitoring system. People using the Guardian Connect CGM with the Sugar.IQ app have been able to achieve an extra 36 minutes per day in a healthy glucose range, Medtronic noted.
“Hypoglycemia, or ‘going low’, is one of the most acute and frightening events that a person living with diabetes can experience,” Dr. Lisa Latts, deputy chief health officer at IBM Watson Health, said in prepared remarks. “Fueled by the right data, AI and machine learning can play a powerful role in helping to alleviate the burden of diabetes and the worry of a hypoglycemic event, and we’ve built the new IQcast features with this goal in mind.”
“Simply put, IQcast acts like a weather forecast for people with diabetes so they can better prepare for their day,” Dr. Robert Vigersky, senior director of medical & clinical affairs for Medtronic’s diabetes unit, added.
“By predicting the likelihood of a low glucose event from anywhere between 1 and 4 hours in advance, IQcast empowers people on multiple daily injections (MDI) with insights so they can live their life with greater freedom and better health,” Vigersky said.
Medtronic and IBM Watson Health first launched the Sugar.IQ app in June last year, touting that it can evaluate how a user’s blood sugar levels respond to variables such as food intake, insulin dosing and other daily routines.
