Dealing with juvenile diabetes can’t be easy, so anything that adds a little fun to the tedious process of monitoring blood glucose levels might help put a smile on a child’s face. Bayer Diabetes Care has just introduced Didget - a unique blood glucose monitoring system that is designed to encourage regular testing with reward points to use online or through Nintendo gaming systems.
The Didget test strips deliver a result in five seconds with a small (0.6μL) blood sample. The meter will retain results of up to 480 tests and has a large, easy-to-read display. It is based on Bayer’s existing CONTOUR system, using the same technology and testing strips. The No Coding technology ensures there is no interference with maltose, galactose and oxygen and automatic corrects for hematocrit and other common interfering substances. The test strips also feature under fill detection and automatic control solution marking.
In the advanced mode, Didget will show hi/lo test result summary, post-meal reminders to test, 7, 14 and 30-day averages and personalization of hi/lo blood glucose target range setting.
Didget is intended to be used by kids aged from four to fourteen and features two levels to grow with the child’s testing routine and ability. It comes with an adventure game and a mini game arcade. The meter will also connect to Bayer’s Didget world, a password protected, online community where kids can "spend" the points they earn by consistently measuring their blood glucose levels and create their own web page.
Dr. Larry Deeb, pediatric endocrinologist and medical director for the Diabetes Center at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital in Florida and a paid consultant for Bayer, said, "As the first meter truly designed with kids in mind, the DIDGET meter can transform a child's blood sugar testing experience from something they have to do into something they want to do. Regular blood sugar testing is critical for diabetes management and one of the biggest challenges facing parents of kids with diabetes is motivating their kids to develop good testing habits. Bayer's DIDGET meter adds an element of fun and rewards to the routine of testing and, by doing so, helps ease that parent/child tension that testing often creates."
Didget is available now for a suggested retail value of US$74.99 through online pharmacies. You don’t need a Nintendo to use the Didget meter but why would you buy one if you didn’t have the other? See Bayer Didget for more details.
So what do you think? Is Didget a fabulous way to help kids (and parents) through the burden of daily glucose monitoring or simply a clever marketing ploy by Bayer and Nintendo?
Via Medgadget.
