iHealth’s smartphone glucometer looks to simplify diabetes care

PRIME – September 2014 By Debbie Gardner By Gary M. Kaye Editor, Tech50+ ( www.tech50plus.com ) An estimated 30 million Americans suffer from diabetes At its mildest it is a time consuming and annoying disease. At its worst it can lead to blindness, kidney failure, amputations, and death. Keeping diabetes well-managed is a chore. You need to check your blood sugar several times a day using meters, lancets, and test strips. If you are insulin dependent you need to keep a supply of injection devices. Non-insulin dependent diabetics rely on an assortment of medications. When you travel, be it for a few hours or a few weeks, you need to make sure you have all of your diabetic supplies with you. And checking blood sugar or giving yourself a shot is never easy if you’re seeing a show, in business meetings, or out with friends. So when a new device comes along that simplifies diabetic care, I cheer. This summer iHealth Labs introduced a tiny blood glucose monitor, the Align, that works with iOS and (some) Android smartphones. And it promises to make the testing process just a little bit easier. The concept of a blood glucose monitor that could plug into a smartphone has been kicking around for a few years, but the main obstacle has been winning regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA had a number of legitimate concerns: device reliability, data security, accuracy, and others. The iHealth Align is the smallest of its kind to pass muster. It’s just a little bigger than a quarter and about three-eighths of an inch thick. In order to get around making versions with a USB plug for Android devices or a Lightning plug for iPhones, iHealth cleverly resolved the issue by plugging it into the device’s headphone jack. It only works with a handful of Android devices so far (more on the way). Check the iHealth website to see if your device is compatible at the website www.ihealthlabs.com/glucometer/ihealth-align/ . In order to use the device you’ll need to get the Smart Gluco app from either Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store. The app allows you to store your data on your smartphone. You can send it to the cloud, or share it with others. The device comes with a collar (in several colors) to protect the slot where you insert the test strip as well as the tip that goes into the headphone jack. It uses a tiny lithium battery (it comes with a spare as well). The cost for the device itself is downright cheap, $16.95. A box of two vials of test strips is $12.50 In testing an early model, we found it worked quite well with the Apple iPhone 5S. Test results were within a couple of points of the results from a couple of other devices (and I couldn’t tell you which was the most accurate). It didn’t work at on the new LG G3, which was not on the iHealth compatible device list. And it worked with a couple of Samsung phones that were on the list. The advent of the iHealth Align isn’t going to revolutionize diabetic care. But it means that you’ll be able to monitor your blood sugar by plugging a tiny little appliance into a device you may already be carrying with you, your smartphone. And when it comes to this annoying disease, anything that simplifies the care process is welcome. Gary Kaye is the creator of Tech50+ (www.tech50plus.com), the leading website covering technology from the Baby Boomer perspective. Kaye has been covering high tech for more than 30 years with outlets including NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox Business. He is a regular contributor to AARP and other websites on issues regarding the nexus of technology, seniors and baby boomers.