Development of a Smartphone Application to Capture Carbohydrate, Lipid, and Protein Contents of Daily Food

Abstract

Our study shows CHO, LIP, and PRO intakes can be easily captured by an application on smartphone for meal entry used by T1D patients. Although LIP and PRO meal contents did not influence glucose levels when insulin doses were based on CHO in this pilot study, this application could be used for further investigation of this topic, including in closed-loop conditions.

Impact of ELKa, the Electronic Device for Prandial Insulin Dose Calculation, on Metabolic Control in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Few studies have been performed to evaluate other computer/smartphone applications facilitating food calculations and dedicated for people with diabetes [ 8 – 10 ]. To our best knowledge, the only software with available trial results that seems comparable to the ELKa system is Diabetics [ 11 ].…”

Mobile application resources to selfcare and selfmanagement of type i diabetes mellitus: integrative review / Recursos de aplicativos móveis para autocuidado e autogerenciamento do diabetes mellitus tipo i: revisão integrativa

“…Concerning the features of the apps described in the analyzed studies, the following can be highlighted: Glucometer 10,11 ; data transmission via Bluetooth 11 ; Text messaging system 12,16,22 ; automatic speech recognition describing the meal and voice transcription in text 13 ; evaluation of the textual description to determine the composition of the meal 13 ; insulin dose calculator 13,14,18,20,23 ; carbohydrate intake and count 14,15,18 ; connection with a telemedicine platform to allow remote supervision by endocrinologists in the hospital 14 ; communication with healthcare providers 17,18,22 ; diabetes diary 15,17,18,20,21,24,25 (blood glucose records, insulin, diet, exercise, medication, insulin doses, mood); diabetes education 17 ; peer communication 17,18 ; reminders and/or alarms 17,18 ; graphics 18 ; access to the smartphone camera to capture the users' real diet 19 ; production of reports 20 and database platform in several languages. 22 The most diverse digital features have been used to help people diagnosed with Type I DM to live with the disease, among them self-monitoring of glucose levels records in digital diaries, favoring self-care and self-monitoring of blood glucose, an essential measure of treatment adherence.…”

“…27 Thus, a system that automatically calculates prandial insulin doses allows bolus insulin to be safely administered. 13,15,16 In this regard, users of DM apps, positively score the usefulness and feature functionality that helps count carbohydrates, providing more accurate estimates of insulin dosage at each meal. 21,23 Overall, users are pleased and trust the bolus calculator to manage their glucose level.…”

Smart applications for diabetes management: A comprehensive survey and ranking

“…As fats and proteins in the meal do not directly affect the blood glucose levels, therefore, the dosage of insulin is estimated only on the basis of carbohydrate intake. 20 To continuously monitor the blood sugar levels of Type 1 patients, different sensor-based smartphone applications are designed. According to Brzan et al, 21 sensor-based applications accurately estimate the insulin dosage to avoid human errors.…”

“…As fats and proteins in the meal do not directly affect the blood glucose levels, therefore, the dosage of insulin is estimated only on the basis of carbohydrate intake. 20…”