Team CGM is part of the Neosensory Community Research Program.
Neosensory is excited about exploring the frontiers of science and technology. As part of this effort, we have launched the Community Research Program, which aims to bring like-minded people together from around the world and across skill sets to work on projects with real-world impact and expand the knowledge domain of sensory addition, augmentation, and substitution. Learn more here or dive right in and sign up to join a team.
There are over 9 million people worldwide living with type 1 diabetes. When you add type 2, the number jumps to over 400 million, with half a billion people expected to have diabetes by 2040.
Type 1 diabetes usually requires the constant monitoring of glucose, insulin injections, and other therapies to manage the condition. As a result, the cognitive and emotional load for people managing type 1 diabetes and their caregivers is enormous.
The only readily accessible method for measuring glucose levels used to be finger-prick tests. Now Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) is available. CGM works by inserting a semi-permanent sensor under the skin. The sensor measures the interstitial glucose level, the glucose found in the fluid between the cells. These levels are then sent to an app where users can receive notifications, view graphs, and examine their glucose levels.
. The sensor measures the interstitial glucose level, the glucose found in the fluid between the cells. These levels are then sent to an app where users can receive notifications, view graphs, and examine their glucose levels.
While leaps and bounds ahead of finger-prick tests, CGM has its own set of drawbacks. One of these is notification and alarm fatigue and paying attention to an app or screen to monitor glucose levels, either their own or as a caregiver.
When we are checking our phones hundreds of times a day, even when it’s for our health, we still drain our attention through context switching.
There are also times, like driving, sleeping, during physical activity, taking an exam, or simply hanging out with friends, when checking on your or your loved one’s glucose levels is a disruption or dangerous.
This is an example of a typical dashboard of CGM data.
Team CGM aims to investigate how acquiring an ambient sense of glucose levels and their direction of movement will reduce the cognitive load currently dedicated to monitoring. In addition, the team hopes that minimizing the disruption and distraction that constantly actively monitoring blood glucose levels causes will aid in the overall management of diabetes.
As Matt Lumpkin, CGM team member and father of a Type 1 child, said, “As a caregiver, this could fundamentally change our relationship to glucose.”
CGMs are becoming more commonplace in the wellness and health domain, and this sense may have benefits to general health and athletic training.
The team is lucky enough to include people directly affected by diabetes. Having the ability to intimately understand the problems and impacts of glucose monitoring on well-being from the beginning of the research process is a great advantage.
Team CGM has been hard at work finalizing their specifications for their MVP ( minimum viable product ) and are now underway ingesting data and connecting it to the Buzz wristband and examining the best way to translate this information into an accessible and understandable haptic language.
Check back in to see how they progress.
Team members
| Matt Lumpkin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattlumpkin/ | My name is Matt Lumpkin. I’m a product designer and Type 1 dad. I led design at Tidepool.org over the last two years building mobile software experiences around automating insulin delivery with wearable pumps and CGMs. Now I’m leading a human development startup I co-founded with two friends (Sol.earth). I’m a firm believer in user driven design especially when working on solutions for people living with chronic conditions. People who live with the problem are the experts. |
| Lennart Goedhart | https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennartgoedhart/ | I’m a software engineer and Type 1 dad. I have been involved in various open source projects in an effort to improve the quality of life of people and caregivers living with the constant extra daily overhead that Type 1 Diabetes brings. Although there always seem to be cures and technological miracles “5 years away”, I’m more interested in making use of available technology to reduce cognitive load and facilitating “low touch maintenance”. |
| Andrew Hammond | https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhammond08/ | I’m Andrew, a mechanical engineer living in the Pacific Northwest. I currently design automation equipment and tinker with robotics and embedded programming. I have many years of experience designing medical equipment and solving problems for end users by exploring their needs and empathizing with their experiences. I think meaningful engineering work is all about improving people’s quality of life and I’m excited to contribute in ways that can empower people to improve their life and well being. |
| Burçin Aktaş | www.linkedin.com/in/burcinaktas | I am Burçin, a recent graduate of molecular biology and genetics. I am working as International Regulatory Affairs Assistant Specialist in cosmetics industry. I have been interested in the brain since my high school years. I like to be practical, fast, and a problem solver. I realized that improving the quality of life of diabetic patients can be in the hands of not only the patient, but also everyone around him/her. With this technology, I hope our team can help to improve the lives of patients, even a little. |
| Jen Rockwell | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-c-rockwell | Hello! I’m Jen. I’m an instructional designer, trainer, and knowledge manager for a financial organization based in Portland, OR. I love to simplify and condense complex ideas into stackable pieces of knowledge to inform and empower others. Deep-diving into neuroscience has been a long-standing “hobby” of mine, and being part of the Neosensory research group is the best of both worlds as we determine how we can meld the power of science and tech to improve the lives of others, but making it easy to understand and implement into their daily lives. I currently oscillate between the Pacific Northwest and greater Chicago area with my family. |
Team CGM is part of the Neosensory Community Research Program.Find out more here