Consumer medical technology not up to the task?
Written by ForeignExchange Translations on Friday, October 29, 2010
The intersection of consumer electronics and medical technology is quickly emerging as vast new market: Current products fall far short of consumers' expectations and the market is growing quickly.
The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg famously referred to his glucose meter as "a piece of crap", based on 1977-era technology. A developer who "showed this to Steve Jobs [would] be fired immediately," he said.
But while there is near-universal agreement on the sad state of current personal diabetes care, things they are a-changing.
Walt Mossberg himself gave Bayer's Contour a positive review. Companies are racing to develop iPhone-based glucose meters; a recent example is the iBGStar glucose meter by sanofi-aventis. And diabetes patients who enjoy the occasional game of Super Mario Bros can use their Nintendo DS as a glucose meter.
It's a good thing that new and better products are coming to market. The CDC just released a report that expects diabetes to double or triple in the U.S. by 2050. That would mean that as much as 1/3 of the U.S. population suffers from diabetes.
Can you say healthcare crisis? Can you hear the cha-ching of sky-rocketing glucose meter sales?
ForeignExchange Translations supports leading diabetes care and blood glucose monitoring system companies with specialized medical translation services for packaging, IFUs, and clinical research. Contact us to learn more.
