New telemedicine system for
diabetes sufferers
Clinicians estimate that one
out of every ten people in Europe will develop
type-2 diabetes at some stage in their life.
That is some 50 to 60 million EU citizens! A new
system pioneered within the M2DM project
promises to make the steps of diabetes
self-diagnosis, communication and effective
treatment radically simpler.
Diabetes sufferers need to constantly watch
their blood sugar levels to maintain a
reasonable quality of life. Failure can lead to
unconsciousness and even death. Yet often one of
the greatest obstacles to the effective
self-management of treatments is the difficulty
of supplying personal data to the supervising
medical department.
The M2DM project (Multi-Access Services for
telematic Management of Diabetes Mellitus) is
applying the latest ICT techniques to the issue
of checking blood sugar levels, communicating
the results and obtaining treatment
recommendations.
Flexible telemedicine and information service
An IST project, M2DM aims to provide diabetic
patients and healthcare providers with a
flexible voice and data communication service
that increases the quality of care by improving
communication between patients and caregivers.
The basis of the system is a multi-access server
that makes use of both Web-based and CTI
(Computer Telephone Integration) technologies.
The result for users is an easy-to-use, online
and cost-effective access to telemedicine and
information services.
The diabetic uses a simple handheld device to
prick his/her thumb and obtain a tiny sample of
blood. The device measures the sugar content of
the sample and displays it on the inbuilt LCD
screen. The diabetic connects the device to a
special modem, which connects and uploads the
blood sugar measurement to the central server,
all at the push of a button.
At the other end of the system, the healthcare
provider logs on to a special Web page that
displays the latest measurement on screen,
checks it against that diabetic's existing blood
sugar data and recommends the appropriate
adjustment in medication. He/she can then send a
message to the 'Home' page of the diabetic, who
reads it and adjusts the medication accordingly.
M2DM also provides a voice alternative to the
data communication methods described above, in
which a touchtone phone can connect to a
telephone messaging system that allows the user
to log in, leave voice messages for the
caregiver and collect any messages in return.
Improving quality of life
The distinguishing feature of the system
piloted within the M2DM project is its ability
to manage the knowledge necessary for effective
treatment and control of diabetes in such a way
that the right information is provided to both
diabetic and caregiver at the right time. This
simple advance brings huge benefits to both
sides of the patient/caregiver relationship.
Says Professor Mario Stefanelli, M2DM project
manager, "We've had a lot of feedback from
patients using the service - they can save time
because they have answers back from the
caregivers in a much shorter period. It takes
time to develop the right treatment for each
patient, so what the system means is a great
reduction in the time needed to improve the
patient's quality of life."
Thus the diabetic is able, within a relatively
short time, to settle down to a fulfilling life
knowing that he/she is obtaining the right
treatment for the disease at that moment. For
the caregiver, the advantage lies in the
enormous amount of time saved that would
otherwise be spent on booking appointments,
coping with delays from patient travel,
secretarial liaison, etc.
Powerful analysis tools
The M2DM project consortium comprised both
technical and clinical partners, all of which
participated in the design and development of
the system. This broad range of expertise has
shown up, for example, in the facilities
supplied to the healthcare provider. When
analysing the patient data, the caregiver can
examine the data in table form or via
easy-to-scan graphics such as pie charts.
Caregivers can analyse, for each patient, blood
sample data against other samples for that same
day, against samples supplied for the same time
on other days, and so on. In this way a detailed
picture can be drawn up about an individual
patient's blood sugar over a period of time,
enabling the caregiver to recommend the correct
medication doses with a very high level of
accuracy.
While the project is now completed, the system
is being tested with patients by nine specialist
medical departments across the EU.
Subject Descriptors :
Communications networks, Information
transmission
Subject Index Codes : Telecommunications,
Information Processing, Information Systems
Subject Class : IT, telecommunications
Remarks : Results entry form
Collaboration Sought : Further research or
development support, Information
exchange/Training
Sources of Support : CEC
Programmes : IST
Projects : IST-1999-10315
Project Title : Multi-Access Services for
telematic Management of Diabetes Mellitus
Contact Details
Contact Name : STEFANELLI, Mario (Prof)
Department : Parvia University
Contact Organisation : CBIM (Consorzio di
Bioingegneria e Informatica)
Address : Via Strada Nuova 65
City : Parvia
Region : LOMBARDIA
Pavia
Postcode : 27100
Country : ITALY
Telephone Number : +39-038-2505354
Fax Number : +39-038-2505373
Electronic Mailbox :
mstefa@aim.unipv.it |
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