DIDGET: Nintendo and Diabetes Management
Recently news surfaced about Nintendo delving into the world of diabetes management. Naturally, Nintendo is aimed at youth and so it is for their new initiative using their popular Nintendo DS gaming platform. Bayer Healthcare is the company behind the new DIDGET blood glucose meter.
The game/device is intended for use by kids between the ages of five to14 and would also connect to Bayer’s DIDGET World, a new password-protected web community where children will be able to spend points that they earn from consistent monitoring practices as well creating their own page.
The device encourages kids to be focused on their testing (read: be consistent) by giving them reward points that they can use to buy items within the game and unlock new game levels. There are two levels available (Basic/Advanced) that allow children to grow in their ability to manage their glucose levels. To learn more on the details of the product, check out Bayer’s DIDGET product page.
According to the article in Health Europe, the device will be available in the UK and Ireland – it is unclear at the moment how Bayer plans to unveil the device in other countries.
Sandra Peterson, head of Bayer Medical Care, mentions:
This product was inspired by a parent of a child with diabetes to directly address the challenges facing kids with diabetes and their parents.
One of the most fascinating aspects of this product is how it came into existence. The father of a young boy with Type 1 diabetes, Paul Wessel, worked with Nintendo on this because he noticed that his son could always find his Gameboy but would constantly lose his glucose meter.
Innovation springs forth due to a need to connect and reinforce value – which is not always easy with kids. Kudos to you Bayer and Nintendo for getting this in the works.
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This is very similar to Glucoboy from a company in MN called Guidance Interactive Health (http://www.glucoboy.com/). I wonder if Bayer helped them get to market by funding an update for the DS. Would be interesting to find out.
Agree with Melanie on the DS side as they clearly launched Didget as a Bayer offering in the U.K. first: http://www.drugstorenews.com/story.aspx?id=109715&menuid=341
Could it be a ‘cloud services platform’ like this Microsoft Azure launch mentions?
http://tinyurl.com/6q2pms I’m not techie enough to know the nuances, but like the idea of all the different interests coming together to create some ‘team’ style options that could amount to a win-win for health…
Diabetes today is mostly caused by a lifestyle that has less exercise and too much sugar. Diabetes can be easily avoided by just doing simple exercises each day like jogging and avoiding sugars. If you already have diabetes, exercise is still the best way to manage it. Food supplements like Charantia and Chromium also helps.
Most people get Diabetes because of the lack of exercise and overeating. We should be more aware of our lazy lifestyles and start exercising regulary to avoid Type II Diabetes.
Diabetes can be prevented by just having a physically active lifestyle. Just exercise everyday and avoid eating too much. Avoid sweets and high carb foods too.
I have serious privacy concerns with this approach this is after all your child’s confidential medical history.
On another note one can normalize the blood sugar using natural herbs like cinnamon and licorice root extract.