Data-driven diabetes management
Diabetes is a growing epidemic in the United States. Now the seventh leading cause of death, the condition plagues more than an estimated 29 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and that number continues to rise. But there’s another troubling issue: Research suggests many people with diabetes aren’t provided adequate resources to follow prescribed dose regimens, so they become “nonadherant,” which leads to serious health issues — and increased health care costs. A 2016 study in the American Journal of Managed Care found that patients with diabetes who are nonadherent spend about $2,700 more in medical costs per year than those who are adherent. Now MIT spinout Common Sensing aims to solve the nation’s diabetes-management issues by going digital. The startup’s smart insulin-pen cap logs insulin intake data on an app and in the cloud, to help patients better manage their regimen. Moreover, the cap...