- The continuous blood glucose monitor was launched in the UK last week
- Its makers, Abbott believe the small gadget could be the next ‘FitBit’ tracker
THE ‘implant’ on my arm is no bigger than a £2 coin, but it will – I have been promised – help boost my mood, metabolism and energy, improve my ability to concentrate and even help achieve better athletic performance.
The high-tech gadget, known as a continuous blood glucose monitor or CGM, will no doubt be familiar to many of the millions of people with type 1 diabetes: famous wearers include former PM Theresa May, for example, who revealed she had the condition in 2013. On the underside of the circular patch is a hair-fine needle that sits in the upper layer of the skin, constantly tracking blood sugar levels and beaming the data to a mobile phone app. This information is vital in helping manage diabetes… although I don’t have the condition and I’m pretty much in perfect health.
I’ve been given the device to try out by the medical firm which makes it, Abbott. The company’s sales reps have been out in force at CES in Las Vegas – the annual convention where everyone who is anyone in the world of tech launches their latest products.
Why, you might ask, is a medical firm at a consumer gadget show?
Well, Abbott believe the Lingo (as the monitor is known) isn’t just for diabetics – it’s something we all can benefit from.
Healthy people who wear the Lingo can learn how foods affect their blood sugar levels, says Abbott, and make tweaks to their diet accordingly so there are fewer fluctuations. And in making ‘better’ food choices, based on the data, users will lose weight, have more energy and reduce their risk of chronic disease in later life.
A company spokesman claimed that the device, which was launched last week in the UK, is set to become ‘the new Fitbit’ – referring to the fitness tracker worn by more than three million people in the UK.
‘We think that being able to see how your body is managing energy is useful to everyone who wants to live a healthy life, whatever their age,’ he added.
Users can order a Lingo starter kit for £89, which includes a monitor – designed to be worn for two weeks – and gives access to its app which tracks blood sugar and offers diet advice and lifestyle tips.
A similar device, to be worn for a fortnight, is offered as part of the £200 Zoe diet programme, which is endorsed by presenter Davina McCall.
However, the key difference is that Abbott suggests that its monitors could be worn permanently, and it offers a subscription plan that includes four monitors (two months of use) for £300.
So what did I learn from wearing a Lingo?
First, my breakfast – yogurt, fruit and granola with a glass of orange juice – triggered a ‘blood sugar spike’ alert on the app. It suggested alternatives which I didn’t much fancy: turkey, chicken breast or a boiled egg. I then had a banana mid-morning to keep up my energy while trekking around the convention centre, which caused another spike.
The app has a feature called Lingo Count which records the severity of each spike on a points system, and sets a daily limit – mine was 60 – based on height, weight, age and other metrics that you input into the app. The banana spike triggered a four-point penalty and the app suggested I do more exercise.
Later I was surprised to find that tucking into a burger, fries and milkshake also gave me four Lingo penalty points. I wonder if this reveals, erm, a slight flaw in this system? Despite this, given how many people I’ve seen wearing the Zoe monitor since its release in 2022, I’m sure the Lingo will be popular, too.
But experts are adamant there’s little evidence to suggest that such gadgets have any real benefit for people without type 1 diabetes.
The condition, which causes the pancreas gland to stop making insulin, renders the body unable to process sugar, which then builds up in the blood.
‘In type 1 diabetics, the blood becomes so filled with sugar that it becomes acidic,’ says University of Oxford dietician Dr Nicola Guess. ‘This damages blood vessels and contributes to cardiovascular disease. But there is no evidence that the everyday peaks and troughs in blood sugar that naturally occur after eating – and last for no more than 20 minutes – experienced by non-diabetics, are in any way damaging to the body.’
Moreover experts argue that the parameters for what the Lingo labels a spike are arbitrary. The app considers anything above a score of 7.8 to be too much blood sugar, while anything less than 3.9 is too low. ‘There is no evidence that says a blood sugar score of eight or nine is concerning,’ adds Dr Guess. ‘Diabetics can see their levels go up to 25 or even 30.’
‘If you don’t already have diabetes, there is no advantage to wearing one of these monitors,’ says Dr Margaret McCartney, a Glasgow-based screening expert. ‘There is no real-world data that shows these devices help improve your health. These people are making lots of money by tracking the everyday, normal functions of the human body and providing unnecessary data and advice.’
Dr Guess says Lingo risks needlessly worrying patients about their blood sugar while also distracting them from more important health risks.
‘Since the Zoe diet launched I’ve seen a steady stream of patients who are concerned they have diabetes because they saw their blood sugar spike on a glucose monitor. Almost all of these people had totally normal blood sugar levels, but the apps left them anxious.’
So Lingo gets a thumbs down from those three doctors (I also ran the idea past Prof Partha Kar, NHS England’s national speciality adviser for diabetes, and he dismissed it as ‘a fad’) and me, too.
There were other health innovations unveiled at CES that showed a bit more promise, thankfully.
From the glasses that read to the blind, the ankle tag that tells you how to walk and even an app that eases bug bites, there are plenty of gadgets on their way to the UK designed to improve health. Here’s my pick of the best.
The smart specs that can say what they see
The firm OrCam has created a small digital camera that clips on to a pair of glasses and can tell the wearer what they are looking at. The £3,300 gadget, called MyEye, weighs no more than an AA battery and uses AI technology that can interpret what the camera sees. This is then relayed verbally, and the software is able to answer questions, too. It means those with serious sight loss can enjoy books, TV and movies as well as read important documents.
A spokesman for OrCam said: ‘When you are given a bill, you don’t need to read every detail, you just need the crucial parts such as “how much do I owe?” and “when is it due?”. That’s what this device can do. You simply tap a button and the AI answers any questions you have about what you’re seeing.
‘It can even describe what someone in front of you looks like or whether there is anything blocking your path.’
Due to its small size, the MyEye needs charging up every 90 minutes. However, it comes with a portable charger.
The gadget is already available in the UK. (orcam.com)
Ankle tag that’ll teach you how to walk
We all know that taking 10,000 steps a day is a gauge of a healthy lifestyle. However, Australian health-tech firm Evolve Mvmt argues that it’s not simply the number of steps that matters, but also their ‘quality’.
The company has developed a wearable device that is fitted around the ankle and analyses how the wearer walks. It claims that doing so could help ease joint pain and even prevent it from becoming a problem in the first place.
The £400 gadget – which looks somewhat like the ankle tags that criminals don – sends updates to an app which rates the wearer’s walking technique out of ten. Studies suggest that many running injuries, for instance, are linked to people unevenly placing too much weight on their heel or toes.
According to Evolve Mvmt’s Barbie Silvera, this is also true for walking.
‘You are supposed to place your heel down first and then smoothly carry the weight on to your toes,’ she says. ‘This engages more muscles and takes the pressure off your feet. But many people don’t do this, and an incorrect walking technique can damage your joints and eventually lead to painful injuries.’
Wearers of the Evolve Mvmt monitor are encouraged by the app to change how they walk. It may warn the user is putting too much weight on their heel or on one side of their foot, for example. The device is not yet sold in the UK, but the company expects to offer it within the next two years.
‘Our number one aim is to preserve people’s joints,’ says Ms Silvera. (evolvemvmt.com)
App that gives stroke victims their voice
More than a third of people who suffer a stroke will struggle afterwards with their speech and language, because of damage to their facial muscles. Patients with Parkinson’s disease and throat cancer also often lose the ability to speak clearly.
But new technology created by a Dutch AI company could provide a solution.
The firm, called Whispp, has designed an app that translates whispered or impaired speech into audible and clear sentences. Users simply speak into their phone and it reproduces what they are saying in less than a second.
It uses AI software which has analysed the voices of thousands of people with altered speech. According to founder Joris Castermans, Whispp allows people who are barely audible to have full and easy conversations over the phone.
‘It can be very isolating when you suffer an illness that leaves you without your full speech because you feel cut off from people around you,’ he says. ‘This app also works for people with a severe stutter.’
Users have the option of choosing from a selection of preset voices, but the app can replicate their own voice, too.
Whispp is available now. There is a free version which gives users up to ten minutes of voice messages a month. The full version costs about £32 a month. (whispp.com)
Unlock the digital life of departed loved ones
It’s a sad, and very modern, dilemma – when a person dies, their loved ones often find they’re unable to access treasured photos, videos and other files stored on their mobile phone. The Adam app aims to offer a simple way around this.
Users upload photos, videos and notes to a folder that is secured with a passcode that can be given to a lawyer or included in a will.
The app is already available and there is a free version which allows customers to upload 50 photos and five videos.
The premium version – which provides a much larger amount of storage – costs about £5 a month or £40 a year.
‘When you die, everything on your digital device will be gone for ever – unless you make arrangements,’ says Adam’s Michael Okoye.
‘Our app is designed so even people in their 90s can navigate it and leave behind cherished memories for their loved ones.’ (adamapp.io)
Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
