Communications of the ACM
Innovative Diabetes App For Smartphones
A new smartphone-based system for managing blood glucose will automatically estimate carbohydrate intake through photos of meals.
Credit: Chris Hannemann
A smartphone-based system developed by researchers at the University of Bern makes it easier for diabetics to plan their meals and control their blood glucose.
Existing apps for smartphones require users to manually record their meal, but the GoCARB program automatically estimates carbohydrate intake. GoCARB works by taking two photos of the meal with the smartphone camera, which the program uses to segment and recognize the various food items and reconstruct them in three dimensions. The app estimates the volume of the individual foodstuffs and makes use of a nutritional value database as it calculates the carbohydrate content of the meal.
The system erred by only plus or minus 6 to 7 grams on average during tests. Moreover, GoCARB uses the carbohydrate content and additional information to calculate the optimal insulin dose for the meal.
The GoCARB prototype, developed at Bern's ARTORG Institute in cooperation with Bern University Hospital, works on Android phones and will undergo further testing this summer.
From University of Bern
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Abstracts Copyright © 2014 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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