I am developing a Diabetes App, help me

[tedlin01]

Hello,

My name is Ted Lindstrom and I have had Type 1 Diabetes for 15 years. My hba1c was at about 77 some months ago and neither me or my doctor was very happy about this result. I decided to really focus on my diabetes and since I am a App Developer I thought that I would like to develop an app for myself to help me keep in the "mindset" of diabetes. In the end I had an app in which I can log glucose, insulin, exercise and food and then visualise it with graphs to see relationships between the parameters. From that I can then easily evaluate how walking and insulin affects my blood sugar. I also noticed that counting carbs is really efficient so I developed a feature for the app that calculates the insulin sensitivity over the days. For instance I noticed that my insulin sensitivity is much lower during nights and mornings. I guess it makes sense since I am less active during nights. However I feel that this app really helps me to control my diabetes and last time I checked my hba1c I had 52(!!!) and my Doctor was really proud of me, so was I

Now, I'm thinking about releasing this iPhone app to the public on App Store. However I don't really feel that it is good enough today so I need to consider if I want to put in the amount of work hours into making it good enough for anyone to use. That is why I am writing and I am wondering if anyone would actually be interested in testing this app out.

Do you guys use any apps to help you with your Diabetes today and if so, is there anything your missing? Any ideas on how to make this app really awsome if I decide to go along with developing it for public use?

 

[andcol]

have a look at my signature - i have already done exactly what you are suggesting. There is a link to a thread on the forum and a download location. It also estimates IOB for you, HbA1c, and you can plot all sorts together to see trends

 

[tedlin01]

Hi andcol. I had a look at your app. It is really cool. I will look more at it. Is it only for PC? I am developing for iPhone. I might also convert it to Android and Windows Phone.

 

[andcol]

yes I saw that. I started to do a conversion but lost the will with the UI. Have you looked at the diabetes.org.uk app for the phones. It seems to have many features

 

[shivles]

Hi, I currently use the mysugr app which is fantastic, if you don't know of it I suggest you have a look because that's the standard you have to match

A useful feature would be if the app already knew carb contents, so say you could input you ate 100g of rice and 50g peas and it would know how many carbs that was. This feels like it would be a lot of work though so no idea how viable it actually is! Or maybe it could link up with an existing calorie/carb counting app?

Good luck!

 

[AndBreathe]

I know when I looked, just after diagnosis, there seem to be a great many apps all offering variations on your theme. Many already have reputation and are well used, so one of the challenges I would imagine could be for those who might only be interested if they could migrate their existing data from one App to another (yours).

Whatever you do, I wish you well. Conceptually, I'm sure you're already pushing against an open door, but some of the practical issues come into play.

Good luck with it all.

 

[Silas]

Hello,

My name is Ted Lindstrom and I have had Type 1 Diabetes for 15 years. My hba1c was at about 77 some months ago and neither me or my doctor was very happy about this result. I decided to really focus on my diabetes and since I am a App Developer I thought that I would like to develop an app for myself to help me keep in the "mindset" of diabetes. In the end I had an app in which I can log glucose, insulin, exercise and food and then visualise it with graphs to see relationships between the parameters. From that I can then easily evaluate how walking and insulin affects my blood sugar. I also noticed that counting carbs is really efficient so I developed a feature for the app that calculates the insulin sensitivity over the days. For instance I noticed that my insulin sensitivity is much lower during nights and mornings. I guess it makes sense since I am less active during nights. However I feel that this app really helps me to control my diabetes and last time I checked my hba1c I had 52(!!!) and my Doctor was really proud of me, so was I

Now, I'm thinking about releasing this iPhone app to the public on App Store. However I don't really feel that it is good enough today so I need to consider if I want to put in the amount of work hours into making it good enough for anyone to use. That is why I am writing and I am wondering if anyone would actually be interested in testing this app out.

Do you guys use any apps to help you with your Diabetes today and if so, is there anything your missing? Any ideas on how to make this app really awsome if I decide to go along with developing it for public use?

Hi. My name is Howard and I have had type 1 diabetes for 43 years.
I am always keen to find new ways to keep better track of my diabetes, improve control and aid in dose calculations.
I currently use the Aviva Pro Expert meter that does most of these calculations for me. I used to use the 100 formula plus a bit of inspired guesswork. I do not use an insulin pump.

I am currently on the I HART trial being run by Imperial College London and am using the Dexcom G5 meter which has been really eye opening. As a result I have changed my once-daily basal dose into two half doses and this has smoothed out my overnight BG readings.

Type 1 Diabetes has many facets but for me the key things are:
Monitoring and recording BG levels and Insulin taken, including exercise, health notes, stress, (PMT) illness
Dose calculation
Food CHO2 values
Energy output values (nothing exists for this as far as I know)
I don't have an iPhone but do have an Android Sony phone. I hope you are thinking broad enough to include both operating systems
Will your app be suitable for type 2 diabetics?

Good luck
Howard

 

[tedlin01]

Hi, I currently use the mysugr app which is fantastic, if you don't know of it I suggest you have a look because that's the standard you have to match

A useful feature would be if the app already knew carb contents, so say you could input you ate 100g of rice and 50g peas and it would know how many carbs that was. This feels like it would be a lot of work though so no idea how viable it actually is! Or maybe it could link up with an existing calorie/carb counting app?

Good luck!

Hi, Thank you. I have looked at mysugr app before and I thought it was a bit confusing how to use it. The future that you requested is actually already implemented. I have received access to one of the biggest food databases out there so the feature is already in place with bar code scanning and so on. They also have a huge exercise database which I might be able to use to calculate how much energy was burned throughout a session.

Hi. My name is Howard and I have had type 1 diabetes for 43 years.
I am always keen to find new ways to keep better track of my diabetes, improve control and aid in dose calculations.
I currently use the Aviva Pro Expert meter that does most of these calculations for me. I used to use the 100 formula plus a bit of inspired guesswork. I do not use an insulin pump.

I am currently on the I HART trial being run by Imperial College London and am using the Dexcom G5 meter which has been really eye opening. As a result I have changed my once-daily basal dose into two half doses and this has smoothed out my overnight BG readings.

Type 1 Diabetes has many facets but for me the key things are:
Monitoring and recording BG levels and Insulin taken, including exercise, health notes, stress, (PMT) illness
Dose calculation
Food CHO2 values
Energy output values (nothing exists for this as far as I know)
I don't have an iPhone but do have an Android Sony phone. I hope you are thinking broad enough to include both operating systems
Will your app be suitable for type 2 diabetics?

Good luck
Howard

Hi, thank you for your input. I find it very valuable. Do you have any idea how to measure stress and put it down in paper? Do you have a system for that right now? I am using a Multiplatform software tool so I can make the app available to android with some rearrangements with the graphical user interface. I already paid for a developer license on Google Play so it's in the backlog for sure. Energy output will also be measured. Built into most phones today there is a step counter so I track movement and then there is options to add manual exercises as well.

I don't know much about how the tool suits for Type 2 diabetics but I will evaluate this option.

I know when I looked, just after diagnosis, there seem to be a great many apps all offering variations on your theme. Many already have reputation and are well used, so one of the challenges I would imagine could be for those who might only be interested if they could migrate their existing data from one App to another (yours).

Whatever you do, I wish you well. Conceptually, I'm sure you're already pushing against an open door, but some of the practical issues come into play.

Good luck with it all.

It's a great idea if I can make the app able to transfer data from another app into mine. Thank you for the idea.

 

[tedlin01]

Alright, finally the app is done and released. Right now I feel fine with the features in the app. They work for myself, however I would like to offer to keep working on it if anyone else finds it useful and wants some features.

There is a few things that I focused on in this version:

• I noticed when using an app several times each day to log values; that it easily gets tiresome with many clicks. I tried to reduce the number of clicks to a minium to make this less of an hassle.
• Calculating carbs is the foundation to good bloodglucose values so I tried to make it as easy as possible. You can use FatSecrets online database or add your own food (with photos). It only calculates carbs, nothing else (fat etc), to help you keep focus on whats important.
• If you know your bolus value (insulin to carb ratio) you can specify this in the settings menu and let the app calculate the amount of insulin for you when you log carbohydrates.
• An easily accessable calculator is integrated in the search bar.

Please give it a try and say if you think I should spend more time working on it or if I should just call it a day and move on

App Store:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-diabetes-app/id1206452266?l=sv&ls=1&mt=8

Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tedlindstrom.mydiabetesapp

 

[Type1Bri]

Does this take into account
The Duration of the insulin
Or the Insulin on board??

 

[andcol]

IOB calculations are interesting especially if the decay curve isn't linear and you add insulin on top of some remaining. It is a feature well worth looking into as few apps do it and also being able to provide a real time estimate of the insulin remaining.

I will rty and have a look at the app over the weekend tedlin01. Thanks for sharing

 

[maria030660]

i use the mysugr app which is very good. It has a insulin calculator on it and you can add the carb etc in it and basal

 

[DunePlodder]

Alright, finally the app is done and released. Right now I feel fine with the features in the app. They work for myself, however I would like to offer to keep working on it if anyone else finds it useful and wants some features.

There is a few things that I focused on in this version:

• I noticed when using an app several times each day to log values; that it easily gets tiresome with many clicks. I tried to reduce the number of clicks to a minium to make this less of an hassle.
• Calculating carbs is the foundation to good bloodglucose values so I tried to make it as easy as possible. You can use FatSecrets online database or add your own food (with photos). It only calculates carbs, nothing else (fat etc), to help you keep focus on whats important.
• If you know your bolus value (insulin to carb ratio) you can specify this in the settings menu and let the app calculate the amount of insulin for you when you log carbohydrates.
• An easily accessable calculator is integrated in the search bar.

Please give it a try and say if you think I should spend more time working on it or if I should just call it a day and move on

App Store:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-diabetes-app/id1206452266?l=sv&ls=1&mt=8

Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tedlindstrom.mydiabetesapp

Hi Ted,
Although I was initially a bit baffled, I've now spent 15 minutes with your app & I really like the interface. The access to a carbohydrate dastabase is excellent. I haven't seen any graphs as I haven't entered enough data.

Personally I use xDrip+ because it links to my Dexcom CGM but I would encourage other people to try your app & I think it's worth developing further, whilst still keeping it simple to use. A method of entering notes & recording exercise might be useful.

Some basic instructions would be useful.

 

[genix]

Ted as @DunePlodder said the interface is very smooth. You could take this app in many directions, or multiple directions. It has the initial bones of an excellent bolus calculator that could be ised stand alone, ised to control remote bolusing for meters or and or insulin pumps or even digital pens.. There is a lot of open source android code out there especially on github as your probably aware which you could use to extend your app. You definitely have a skill in creating great interfaces and the only limits you will have are those you will set on yourself, so you only need to decide what is the end goal you have in mind. I suggest sitting down deciding on a clear vision (be it large or small) for the app, analyse the path, then decide if you wish to finish it yourself or invite others to collaborate with you. But don't abandon it, especially the idea, nor the completion.

 

[jrussell88]

I think the first thing is to avoid unnecessary data entry.

I've a Freestyle Libre and pump; mySugr is supposed to import readings but doesn't, which means it doesn't add to what I already have.

It would be helpful to have analytics for insulin and carb sensitivities; bearing in mind that these can change.

I'm less sure about the benefits of a food database; I prefer to count the carbs.

 

[NinaB73]

Hi andcol. I had a look at your app. It is really cool. I will look more at it. Is it only for PC? I am developing for iPhone. I might also convert it to Android and Windows Phone.

Please do windows!! Nothing decent is on windows app that I have seen, all the good ones are android and Iphone and call me old fashioned but I like my windows phone! I would be very interested if you did!

 

[StewartH]

As an LCHF convert I could really benefit from an app which would allow me to record protein and fat intake. Fat does not raise BG but protein certainly does so it should be recorded.

 

[tedlin01]

IOB calculations are interesting especially if the decay curve isn't linear and you add insulin on top of some remaining. It is a feature well worth looking into as few apps do it and also being able to provide a real time estimate of the insulin remaining.

I will rty and have a look at the app over the weekend tedlin01. Thanks for sharing

Thank you for testing!

i use the mysugr app which is very good. It has a insulin calculator on it and you can add the carb etc in it and basal

Alright, I will look into that app and see how they do it. Is it someway you can think of improving their feature? Maybe I could implement those improvements here.

Hi Ted,
Although I was initially a bit baffled, I've now spent 15 minutes with your app & I really like the interface. The access to a carbohydrate dastabase is excellent. I haven't seen any graphs as I haven't entered enough data.

Personally I use xDrip+ because it links to my Dexcom CGM but I would encourage other people to try your app & I think it's worth developing further, whilst still keeping it simple to use. A method of entering notes & recording exercise might be useful.

Some basic instructions would be useful.

Thank you so much for the encouragement. I have been playing around with logging exercises and have also prepared a database so that is something that I will add further on. I will look into notes as well.

I think the first thing is to avoid unnecessary data entry.

I've a Freestyle Libre and pump; mySugr is supposed to import readings but doesn't, which means it doesn't add to what I already have.

It would be helpful to have analytics for insulin and carb sensitivities; bearing in mind that these can change.

I'm less sure about the benefits of a food database; I prefer to count the carbs.

Agreed. I used to have a feature that was displaying the insulin/carb sensitivity variations. I will definitely look into this further.

Please do windows!! Nothing decent is on windows app that I have seen, all the good ones are android and Iphone and call me old fashioned but I like my windows phone! I would be very interested if you did!

This is a tricky one I used to develop for Windows Phone but as Microsoft doesnt seem to keep producing phones with Windows OS I might not consider it being worth the effort at this stage. I am however planning to build a website that is linked to the apps so in that case you could probably use the web app :/

As an LCHF convert I could really benefit from an app which would allow me to record protein and fat intake. Fat does not raise BG but protein certainly does so it should be recorded.

Alright, thanks. I will consider adding it as optional values.

Does this take into account
The Duration of the insulin
Or the Insulin on board??

No not right now, but its a good idea. I will look into it.

 

[andcol]

Re: IOB

Thank you for testing!


Alright, I will look into that app and see how they do it. Is it someway you can think of improving their feature? Maybe I could implement those improvements here.

My programme also does this and is documented in the forum thread. Quite happy to share for the good of the community

 

[Garr]

Hi @tedlin01 , cheers for the app! Almost exactly what I've been looking for so I can bin all my paper recordings. Simple and quick to use. I say almost as, for me, if you could add notes to the carb intake, as in type of meal, fish and chips, mince and tatties, lasagne etc and log exercise, type, intensity, duration, it would be perfect. Maybe you can and I've not sussed it yet. I've tried many apps and find them all a pain to use. not your one though. Cheers again, great app.