Dubai diabetics sweet on this mobile app

It is as if you are inserting a drop of blood into your smartphone; with a small device, you collect a drop of blood, and your mobile will read the sugar level shortly after.

Although the technique itself is not new, the mobile app is.

Presented by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) at the recently concluded Gitex Technology Week, this app is for and about those suffering from diabetes.

The app is threefold, explained Azza Abdul Aziz bin Hussain, Head of Services Unit at the DHA.

"It helps people suffering from diabetes in managing the disease; it allows patients to manage doctor appointments; and it provides information about diabetes for anybody who requires it."

As blood sugar levels should frequently be tested by patients, the app is equipped with the technology to facilitate this.

After the blood is collected with a needle, it can be inserted in the iHealth device, which can be connected to the smartphone.

The information will then be stored, interpreted and processed into graphics over time demonstrating the overall sugar levels of the patient.

Diabetics can directly transfer glucometer reading on to the app and if the patient is registered with a DHA health facility, results are automatically exported to the patient’s file.

"The sugar levels can be measured before and after a meal, and the patient can be reminded to have a meal.

"Further, there is an emergency button which the patient can use when needed. He will decide which number to store under this button; be it a doctor, a clinic or a family member."

The app is expected to go live by end-November. In a further stage of the development, realtime communication will become the focus of the app.

"This app will be developed to include the possibility of realtime communication with doctors, do the patient can speak to a doctor when he is experiencing pain.

"This will not only be applied to diabetes patients but also to general pain management," said Abdulrahman Mohammad Al Jassmi, CEO OF Dubai Hospital.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.