Despite the advancement of medicine, technological leaps and new drugs, astonishingly, diabetes remains largely underdiagnosed. Can a new wave of sensing technology change the paradigm?
“Ice Cream 46,” Kunst met een R, Courtesy of EDEN Gallery. // One scoop too much | Each of my stories includes an original artwork. Clicking on them will take you to their websites. I am grateful for all the collaborators, sharing their work.
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In the past 30 years, the number of people living with diabetes has quadrupled; from 200 million to over 800 million in 2022. Even more astounding is that almost half of the world’s diabetics are undiagnosed. And all it takes is a simple blood test.
A new study analyzing 20 years of data across 200 countries reveals an unimaginable reality: 44% of people aged 15 and older who had diabetes were clinically undiagnosed. Young adults were least likely to be diagnosed in time; though this group is at high risk for complications with decades ahead of them to live with the damage. This delay translates to actual harm: a third to two-thirds of patients with type 2 diabetes, the most common form, already have complications at diagnosis.
Three years ago, the WHO set a goal: diagnose 80% of people living with diabetes by 2030. Yet, researchers found that global improvement over the past 20 years has been only 8.3%. At this pace, achieving that target is more ambitious than ever.
Preventing complications depends on timely diagnosis, but also on optimal treatment. The same study revealed that only 21% of diabetics reached desired glucose balance.
Something has to change. And perhaps, something just did.
The FDA recently cleared a new type of Continuous Glucose Monitoring device: Biolinq’s wearable sensor, Shine, just received the coveted De Novo Classification from the agency. This is a major milestone for the company, which secured $100 million dollar Series C funding last quarter.
The coin-sized sensor breaks away from its competitors on three fronts: target audience, technology, and user engagement. Designed for non-insulin dependent diabetics, Biolinq offers direct no-app visualization of one’s glucose status: users simply look at their dynamic patch: blue means in range, yellow means out. More details can be accessed in the app, but the body’s dialogue becomes visible, literally, on the skin.
According to the company, its electrochemical sensor array is up to 20 times shallower than other sensors, allowing users to barely feel them without sacrificing accuracy. The FDA’s green light for the blue-and-yellow patch will likely not be the last. The global CGM market is projected to climb from $5.9 billion valuation in 2024 to $13.6 billion by 2034, with major players like Dexcom, Abbott, and Medtronic expanding their reach.
Nonetheless, living with a continuous disease monitor carries its own emotional and psychological weight. Continuously facing your ‘inner’ metabolic state, naturally fluctuating, provides knowledge for better choices, but it can also be stressful, or exhausting. Behavioral research is needed to account for this delicate balance, between sensing and over-sensing.
