IDIAPJGol participates in a European consortium to evaluate a digital assistant to help manage type 2 diabetes

DigiDiab is a project funded by the European Union with a budget exceeding two million euros to assist healthcare professionals in improving blood glucose control, preventing complications among patients, and reducing healthcare costs.

 

IDIAPJGol is involved in a project led by the Medical University of Graz (MedUniGraz) in Austria, which aims to enhance blood glucose control in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The project, named DigiDiab, is financed by the European Union with a budget exceeding two million euros.

The initiative aims to develop and evaluate a patient-specific solution to aid healthcare professionals in enhancing disease management. This solution is a computer application called GlucoTab, currently undergoing a pilot phase in the countries participating in the DigiDiab consortium: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Austria, and Spain.

In late May 2024, Magda Aubets from the IDIAPJGol Innovation Agency, together with IDIAPJGol diabetes expert researcher Juan José Cabré, attended a DigiDiab consortium meeting held in Graz, with representatives from all partner entities present. The conference addressed the implementation of pilot tests in hospitals and nursing homes across consortium countries.

 

 

 

Improvable quality of care

Elevated glucose levels can lead to various complications such as infections, kidney, heart, and respiratory problems, dehydration, and visual impairments, among others. Currently, diabetes care entails high costs for healthcare systems.

Despite advancements in recent years, the quality of diabetes care remains improvable. One reason is the lack of insulin therapy adjustment due to healthcare professionals' unfamiliarity or fear of hypoglycemia.

Digital assistants can help adjust the appropriate insulin dosage for patients. GlucoTab is a certified medical device that improves blood glucose level control, provides guidance to healthcare professionals, and promotes evidence-based diabetes management.

DigiDiab is part of the EIT Health consortium, comprising over 144 companies, universities, and research centers from 14 European countries. It represents one of the most ambitious initiatives in health funded publicly in Europe.