Background and Aims: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices could be useful for real-time management of diabetes therapy. In particular, CGM information could be used in real-time to predict future glucose levels in order to prevent hypo/hyperglycemic events. This paper proposes a new on-line method for predicting future glucose concentration levels from CGM data.
Methods:The predictor is implemented with an artificial neural network model (NNM). The inputs of the NNM are the values provided by the CGM sensor during the preceding 20 minutes, while the output is the prediction of glucose concentration at the chosen prediction horizon (PH) time. The method performance is assessed using datasets from two different CGM systems (9 subjects using the Medtronic Guardian and 6 subjects using the Abbott Navigator). Three different PH are used, i.e. 15, 30 and 45 minutes. The NNM accuracy has been estimated by using the root mean square error (RMSE) and prediction delay.
Results:The RMSE is around 10, 18 and 27 mg/dl for 15, 30 and 45 minutes of PH, respectively. The prediction delay is around 4, 9 and 14 minutes for upward trends and 5, 15 and 26 minutes for downward trends, respectively. A comparison with a previously published technique, based on an autoregressive model (ARM) [1], has been performed. The comparison shows that, the proposed NNM is more accurate than the ARM, with no significant deterioration in the prediction delay.
Conclusions:The proposed NNM is a reliable solution for the on-line prediction of future glucose concentrations from CGM data.