CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InSpark Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has entered into clinical study collaborations with Atlanta Diabetes Associates, a large clinical practice in Atlanta, Georgia, and East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute, a research center of East Carolina University. The studies will evaluate the impact of a new mobile health application – the VigilantTM1 Diabetes Management Companion – for the prevention of nighttime and moderate low blood glucose in individuals with Type 1 diabetes.
Diabetes affects more than 21.9 million Americans, and Type 1 diabetes is the rarer form in which individuals must rely on insulin treatment because their pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin to regulate their blood glucose. A dangerous and often frequent occurrence in diabetes management, low blood glucose or hypoglycemia can be one of the most frightening aspects of living with diabetes. If left untreated, it can cause loss of consciousness, seizures, coma, or even death.
According to the American Diabetes Association, hypoglycemia accounts for more than 282,000 emergency room visits a year. Nighttime or nocturnal hypoglycemia is one of the most common types of hypoglycemia in individuals with diabetes using insulin and is particularly dangerous as it often goes undetected.
“Clinical trial collaborations with premier industry leaders are an essential element of our strategy to realize the full potential of Vigilant and demonstrate InSpark Technologies’ leadership in digital health solutions for diabetes," said Erik Otto, Co-Founder and President of InSpark Technologies. “We are looking forward to collaborating with both of these highly respected organizations to study Vigilant in diabetes populations who up to this point have had few non-invasive options for being alerted to the risk of hypoglycemia.”
Each study will enroll participants who will download Vigilant to their iOS2 or Android3 mobile device. Each participant will check his or her blood glucose levels throughout the day using a wireless blood glucose meter that communicates with Vigilant. Vigilant will analyze the person’s blood glucose data, provide concise summaries about his or her daily glucose patterns and send alert messages to the patient and caregivers about periods of risk.
Researchers at Atlanta Diabetes Associates will be evaluating Vigilant’s impact on mild, moderate and severe hypoglycemia. "We are excited to be working with InSpark Technologies to evaluate the potential of this novel technology to improve clinical outcomes for people with diabetes," said Bruce Bode, MD, president and chief executive officer of Atlanta Diabetes Associates. “Hypoglycemia in diabetes is one of the largest barriers to good control and having technologies available that may help prevent it is important to both the quality of life of individuals as well as the potential to improve overall clinical outcomes.”
ECU researchers will be studying Vigilant’s effectiveness in helping people with nocturnal hypoglycemia. “Nocturnal hypoglycemia is one of the biggest fears people with diabetes and their families experience,” said Robert Tanenberg, MD, medical director for the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute. “Recognizing when one is at risk for a severe or dangerous low blood glucose and taking measures to prevent it are cornerstones of good diabetes management. We are looking forward to evaluating this technology’s ability to assist in this area.”
Vigilant is intended for people with diabetes aged 13 and older who take multiple injections of insulin each day or who use insulin pumps. It is available in the Apple App Store2 and Google PlayTM3 store for download to compatible smartphones. A dedicated web-based caregiver version (“Vigilant Caregiver”) is available for those who assist in the care of people with diabetes. More information about Vigilant can be found at vigilant.insparktech.com.
About InSpark Technologies, Inc.
InSpark Technologies is developing tools that help people with diabetes transform the significant amount of blood glucose data captured on a daily basis into useful insight. InSpark’s technology alerts patients and clinicians about patterns indicative of periods of risk at the time they need it most (such as when a patient is testing, and in advance of the period of risk). InSpark’s technology is derived from a broad suite of pattern recognition intellectual property developed by Drs. Boris Kovatchev, Daniel Cox and Marc Breton, and licensed from the University of Virginia Licensing and Ventures Group. More information can be found at http://insparktech.com. Follow us on twitter at @insparktech.
InSpark Contact:
Diane Johnson,
DTJ.Org Public Relations & Marketing on behalf of InSpark Technologies Inc.
703-203-7746
diane@insparktech.com
About East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute (ECDOI) at East Carolina University
The ECDOI is an interdisciplinary research institute jointly supported by the ECU Divisions of Health Sciences and Research & Graduate Studies. The ECDOI is well known for cutting-edge collaborative research in several fields related to disorders of metabolism, including bariatric surgery, muscle insulin signaling/glucose transport, bioenergetics/exercise physiology, and pediatric healthy weight programs. The mission of the ECDOI is to promote and coordinate interdisciplinary basic and translational research programs in diabetes and obesity, to support the education and training of undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, and to foster the development of outreach prevention/treatment programs for the people of eastern North Carolina.
ECU Contact: Amy A. Ellis, public communication specialist,
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Ellisa14@ecu.edu or 252-744-3764
About Atlanta Diabetes Associates
Atlanta Diabetes Associates is an endocrinology & metabolism practice. Our board certified endocrinologists have decades of experience in diabetes and endocrine care. We dedicate ourselves in providing optimal healthcare services relating to diabetes and other endocrine disorders.
Our medical staff at Atlanta Diabetes Associates combines extensive experience, compassion and the latest technology in addressing your health care concerns. We are committed to patient education and participation in the implementation of treatment plans so that the best care can be provided.
We also offer clinical trials so that patients are able to access treatments that are still in the investigational stages.
- VigilantTM is a trademark of InSpark Technologies Inc.
- iOS and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc.
- Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google Inc.