Nine years ago, Paul Wessel made a simple connection. His young son, Luke, suffered from Type 1 Diabetes, a condition requiring several glucose readings per day. In order to take these measurements, a small blood sample was fed into a colorful handheld reader that theoretically, was simple enough for a child to use, and appealing enough for a child to want to use it.
However, Luke seemed less than enthusiastic about keeping tabs on his readings. “At about age six Luke began losing his glucose meter way too often,” Wessel related in a 2003 interview. “But he knew exactly where his GAMEBOY was, even if it was under the sofa. So I thought - Why not combine the two devices into one?”
Today, Wessel’s idea has developed into a commercial product due to be released in the U.K., the Bayer Didget. The Didget is a glucose meter modeled off of Bayer’s Contour meter and features a sleek design reminiscent of the iPod. After plugging the meter into a port on a Nintendo DS game system, a diabetic patient can translate consistent glucose readings into videogame prizes, including unlockable arcade-style games in which players can repel alien spaceships. Additionally, the Didget provides access to an online community of other Didget users, fusing the addictive nature of handheld videogames with peer support and additional extrinsic motivation.
The Didget has raised considerable buzz in both the realm of tech-gadget related blogs and the online diabetic community; Wessel seems to have tapped into a need that Bayer failed to initially factor into its product. Designing and marketing an effective glucose reader is merely the first step; convincing a child to actually maintain a regular testing schedule is another. Wessel’s first crack at combining entertainment and medicine was the Glucoboy, released in the Australian market in 2007 after three years of legal wrangling with Nintendo. A clear precursor to the Didget, the Glucboy became the first piece of medical hardware licensed to interface with the Gameboy, and was even covered under most Australian insurance policies. Wessel’s new product sports a sleeker look and a more sophisticated design, with customizable settings permitting older users to adjust their HI/LO blood glucose target range and set daily alarms, as well as a child-friendly “basic” mode.
Far from the days of badgering young patients into paying even the most cursory attention to their readings, Bayer and Wessel count on kids being so engaged that they run the risk of over-testing. In fact, a maximum limit of readings per day is programmed into the game.
While the marketplace success of the Didget still remains to be seen, Jim Wessel and his new meter provide a great example of what’s possible from empowered caregivers, and offers a glimpse into the future of health devices that are mobile, social, and drive motivation.
