Learning from the future generation: how to manage T1D

There’s nothing that a father won’t do for his daughter, according to Howard Look, chief executive officer of Tidepool and a devoted “geek dad.” Howard created a unique open-source data platform devoted to managing type 1 diabetes (T1D) after his daughter was diagnosed with T1D in 2012. “It’s now much easier to get access to your data, obviously, with continuous glucose monitors (CGM), but even more exciting for me is the concept of bringing all of that together,” said Look. To learn more about this technology featuring Tidepool’s CEO Howard Look and to meet T1D teens that are working toward a world without T1D, with better technology to manage the disease, please watch this brief video.

Collecting information
JDRF teens in Los Angeles have easily integrated technology into their lives. Using a new pump, a CGM or simply by managing their smartphones to update their parents on their blood-sugar levels throughout their day, these teens were born using the internet and communicating through social media. They have always had or used a cell phone. “Blip”, the app from Tidepool, is a rather new technology that kids would consider using to stay connected to their healthcare provider or to share their data with researchers. According to another “geek-dad,” Frank Wisneski from West Covina, California who uses the latest technology to monitor his 13-year-old daughter,

“We use an app to manage her [data] and to be able to remotely monitor her throughout the day. It sends us information all day long so we’re able to remotely monitor her, and if there’s any kind of an issue, we send her a text. I don’t know how people did this without smartphones. It has made life a lot easier for us. It also allows us to have a little more freedom.”

Confidence in numbers
We also learned how new devices and having access to your numbers can easily give you confidence and more time in the classroom, “I love the technology that is available because it lets me know exactly where I am 24/7,” said Los Angeles teen Carly. “I was on a lot of shots a day, and I was in the nurse’s office more than I was at school for a long time before my CGM.”

Sharing your data
Mr. Look is extremely passionate about what Tidepool and JDRF can do for teens and all people with T1D. “Our goal is to write software to make it easier for people to liberate data from their diabetes devices, make it accessible and intuitive, and be able to share it with their care team, their doctor or their family.”

Why It Matters:
We learned with JDRF’s support, Tidepool created a data storage application in the cloud that aggregates many different kinds of data from all kinds of devices for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to be viewed and shared by health providers and researchers to better understand T1D. And, clearly the next generation is ready and willing to adopt new technologies like Tidepool to help manage the daily challenges of T1D.