Watch that monitors ketone levels?

[KetoWatch]

Hey! I'm currently working on a project related to Type 1 diabetes.

Would you guys buy a watch that constantly monitors your ketone levels (through sweat) and sends a numeral measurement to an app on your smartphone? If so, how much would you pay for it?

 

[novorapidboi26]

I will be getting a smart watch very soon..............

could something like this be used in one of the main manufacturers.........?

is sweat the only means to test.....?

just for a watch that does solely this, I would expect to pay between 50 - 100......

 

[copepod]

Considering that it's only necessary to check ketone levels when blood glucose levels are very high eg when ill, I wouldn't bother continually monitoring ketones.

 

[tim2000s]

Given that ketone levels are something that should be zero (and if you are a type 1 and well controlled, will be zero), I'm not sure that it is something that I'd worry about enough to pay for a smartwatch to monitor it for me. I have ketostix for when I am high enough to need to check (and that cost me a fiver for 50 tests), and more importantly, blood glucose testing kit that will tell me I am too high.

If you could do a non-invasive Blood Glucose equivalence sensor, that would be something that would be much more interesting.

 

[logindetails]

I get ketone test strips on prescription and probably use them once every other blue moon unless I'm feeling ill. I wouldn't buy a watch to do something I rarely do anyway.

 

[shedges]

To echo the above comments, I'd buy a watch if it told me my blood sugar levels continuously, and if it could do ketone checks that'd be a great bonus, but ketones alone isn't going to deliver me much value on its own.

 

[noblehead]

Echo what's already been said, never check for ketones unless I'm ill or bg has gone haywire, thankfully both don't happen too often, so the answer has to be NO.

 

[phoenix]

I agree with the others, I only test if ill.
You could aim it at the very low carb diet market. They are keen to have ketones.

 

[KetoWatch]

What about for children???? Do you guys think it'll be useful for children who are not so knowledgeable of their ketone levels and just feel ill some times?

 

[robert72]

I agree with the others, I only test if ill.
You could aim it at the very low carb diet market. They are keen to have ketones.

As a low-carber, I have ketones but I don't need to keep a continuous check on them.

I imagine the ketone breathalyser might be useful if you were going to spend money on a device, as it measure current rather than historic ketones.

 

[tim2000s]

What about for children???? Do you guys think it'll be useful for children who are not so knowledgeable of their ketone levels and just feel ill some times?

As a type 1 who was diagnosed at 13, it wasn't something that I worried about then. And if you are talking about younger children, most testing is done with adult oversight.

Remember that ketones don't just magically appear. They require a high blood sugar first. This is detectable very easily, both by urine and blood testing. If the blood sugar is high, as a type 1 you will be looking to lower it anyway, or in the case of a child, your parents will.

You may not agree, but it feels very much like a solution looking for a problem that isn't really there. Ketones are really the final symptom of an issue for wehich there are a range of earlier symptoms, so any testing is really a last resort.

 

[Hooked]

Wouldn't spend money on such a thing. We get ketone monitors and strips for free, and only need to test if glucose levels have been high. That's true of any diabetic, no matter what the age.

 

[Ambersilva]

As others have said we already know there is a possibility of dangerous levels of ketones when our blood sugar is high and we have the means to quickly test. A watch that could read blood sugar levels and keep a timed record of results would be a brilliant invention. I would like such a device to tell the time with a stopwatch that I could trigger when insulin is administered.

 

[Spiker]

This would mainly be useful for low carbers (diabetic and non diabetic), and maybe pediatric and intensive care settings.

Is there any science base for measuring ketones from sweat? What types of ketones can be detected? I ask because people do come on here with design concepts that don't have any basis in science or engineering, which is something of a time waster. ;-)

 

[tim2000s]

This would mainly be useful for low carbers (diabetic and non diabetic), and maybe pediatric and intensive care settings.

Is there any science base for measuring ketones from sweat? What types of ketones can be detected? I ask because people do come on here with design concepts that don't have any basis in science or engineering, which is something of a time waster. ;-)

An interesting observation. I'm not sure how useful it is, even when low carbing. I think it's useful as you get used to it, but once you are doing it regularly and experienced, I'm not sure how much benefit you'd really get.

I'm sitting here now fully ketoned up and I can feel it, so I don't really need a watch to tell me!

 

[Spiker]

An interesting observation. I'm not sure how useful it is, even when low carbing. I think it's useful as you get used to it, but once you are doing it regularly and experienced, I'm not sure how much benefit you'd really get.

I'm sitting here now fully ketoned up and I can feel it, so I don't really need a watch to tell me!

Some low carbers are looking for a "sweet spot" of ketone levels that are not too high, not too low. Particularly during induction of ketosis. I agree most people find a stable pattern. It could be useful to have an alarm if dropping out of ketosis. But the device would need to be more sensitive, and detect a broad range of ketone types, to be useful for this. And it would need to be affordable compared to alternative ketone measurement systems that already exist. Fairly unlikely, I suspect.

 

[toby64]

Hello all, i have been a type 1 for over 50 years although i have had periods of reasonably ill health only a few times have i shown ketones above 0.5 this being said maybe i am different to others but i feel the real point you may be missing in relation to children is that unless very extreme heat is apparent children usually do not sweat, until they are over 10years old. I am sorry but i would not purchase one due to hardly ever needing to know what my levels were.

Best regards
Toby

 

[Ambersilva]

An interesting observation. I'm not sure how useful it is, even when low carbing. I think it's useful as you get used to it, but once you are doing it regularly and experienced, I'm not sure how much benefit you'd really get.

I'm sitting here now fully ketoned up and I can feel it, so I don't really need a watch to tell me!

Hello @tim2000s;

What is the feeling you get when you are 'fully ketoned up' ?

 

[tim2000s]

Hello @tim2000s;

What is the feeling you get when you are 'fully ketoned up' ?

It's hard to describe. There is just a way I feel when my ketones are up. I used to associate it with high blood sugar, but since doing the low carb diet, I've discovered it occurs when I have ketones, and is not directly related to blood sugar.

 

[kittywolf85]

Hey! I'm currently working on a project related to Type 1 diabetes.

Would you guys buy a watch that constantly monitors your ketone levels (through sweat) and sends a numeral measurement to an app on your smartphone? If so, how much would you pay for it?

\
I'm one of thoes who is always checking because always throwing up ( which is a total problem for suger levels) - and i still would not spend money on this.