Glooko and Joslin's HypoMap

Joslin Diabetes Center is running a small trial to pilot test a mobile health app and an online nutrition education platform for people with Type 1 diabetes, according to a ClinicalTrials.gov posting.

The web platform will help educate patients about how to optimize their glucose and analyze their after-meal behavior. The app will facilitate data logging to help patients and caregivers track and explain variability in their glucose readings. The system is called “Sugar Sleuth”.

The study will be a 3-month, 30-person, nonrandomized trial. The primary outcome measure will be blood glucose, measured in area under the curve.

Joslin is no stranger to digital health strategies for diabetes management. The medical center added a digital health division, called the Joslin Institute for Technology Translation (JITT) last June, and announced a partnership with Dexcom.

The company has also worked extensively with glucometer connectivity company Glooko: the two co-developed HypoMap, a patient-facing platform to help increase patients’ awareness of hypoglycemic events. HypoMap integrates data from glucometers as well as consumer activity trackers to help patients and their healthcare providers manage their diabetes.

Most recently, Google Life Sciences (soon to be renamed as a new company under Alphabet) announced a partnership with both Sanofi and the Joslin Diabetes Center.

On that occasion, Joslin President and CEO John Brooks expressed in a statement that he hoped technological solutions would eventually not only help treat, but cure diabetes.

“Technology, sensors, analytics, and digital solutions will disrupt how blood sugars are managed, which will deliver improved quality of life, lowering the risk of complications and reducing the costs and barriers associated with diabetes care,” he said. “Ultimately, I truly hope we’re able to turn the Joslin Diabetes Center into a museum.”