The GSMA today announced a first-of-its-kind clinical study for its mHealth Grand Tour in September 2013, which is designed to raise awareness of diabetes and promote the development and delivery of mHealth solutions in partnership with the International Diabetes Federation European Region (IDF Europe). The 13-day cycle ride will feature a live research study of the effects of multi-day endurance exercise on blood glucose levels for up to 36 volunteer riders on the tour, using data captured and transmitted wirelessly through a collaborative technical solution provided by ANT+, Dexcom and Orange. In addition, the GSMA confirmed that new partners Etisalat and u-blox will enter teams of riders into the mHealth Grand Tour and announced HIMSS and the European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL) as the latest supporters of the ride.
"Gathering clinical evidence on the impact that mobile technology will have on treating chronic conditions like diabetes is critical to unlocking its potential, and in recognising the huge cost savings and resource efficiencies it can create," said Michael O'Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. "The growing prevalence of diabetes is a big issue globally. In Europe alone, 8.5 per cent of the population, or 63 million people, are living with the condition today. The mHealth Grand Tour is the ideal platform for the mobile, health and sports worlds to unite and prove the positive impact mHealth will have on those who suffer from diabetes."
The clinical study, designed by Professor Michael Trenell, NIHR Senior Research Fellow and Director, MoveLab, Newcastle University, will focus on the effect of multi-day exercise on glycaemia and hypoglycaemic levels in elite and sub-elite athletes with Type 1 diabetes, as well as with riders without diabetes. Through the ANT+, Dexcom and Orange technical solution, riders will track statistics on blood glucose and nutrition for two weeks before, during and after the ride, as well as cycling statistics and heart rate during the mHealth Grand Tour.
Riders will wear the Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitor, which attaches to the skin and transmits data wirelessly over ANT+. During the ride itself, they will also use a bio-harness to capture their heart rates and an ANT+ enabled bike computer to monitor cycling statistics. All of these devices will transmit their statistics via ANT+ both to the riders' smartphones, enabling them to track their health and performance in real time, and to an M2M module.
Orange will integrate the M2M module into a cloud-based, connected medical device PaaS (Platform as a Service) solution that, in a clinical setting, will enable the seamless, automatic and secure flow of data from patient to care provider. During the mHealth Grand Tour, the PaaS solution will transmit the data to a dedicated Web portal and process the data for later analysis by the Newcastle University research team. All technologies employed in the end-to-end technical solution adhere to standards published by Continua Health Alliance.
"Connected medical device technologies are creating new care pathways and services for patients and their caregivers," said Thierry Zylberberg, Director of Orange Healthcare. "The remote monitoring of chronic illnesses such as diabetes means that patients can feel confident that their caregivers are able to monitor their illness any place, any time. This represents an enormous shift in how health is managed. Orange will continue to work with patients and medical professionals to develop mobile health solutions that best meet their needs. The mHealth Tour will provide a living example of the transformative potential of mobile health through connected medical devices and interoperable platforms."
"The key to mHealth is to simply and unobtrusively track physiological data and deliver it to the cloud," stated Rod Morris, VP ANT Wireless. "When that data is delivered seamlessly to a variety of hubs for analysis, people realise the real benefits. The mHealth Grand Tour is showcasing the power of innovation, connectivity and collaboration where the consumer ultimately wins. That's what it's all about."
A recent study commissioned by the GSMA in conjunction with PwC revealed that mHealth adoption could help reduce costs for chronic conditions by 30 to 35 per cent in the European Union through improved treatment compliance and remote patient monitoring. Findings also revealed that mHealth could save almost €100 billion in healthcare costs in the EU by 2017 as well as add €93 billion in GDP.
Additional organisations that are joining the GSMA and the International Diabetes Federation European Region (IDF Europe) in helping to raise awareness of diabetes care, prevention and research include the Catalan Diabetes Association, Continua Health Alliance, Diabetes Croatia, Diabetes Germany, the European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN), Medtech Alliance, Mobile World Capital, Team Blood Glucose (TeamBG), Team Novo Nordisk, The King's Fund and TicSalut Foundation, among others. Participating riders will also receive expert support from organisations and individuals such as Carmichael Training Systems and Michelin-starred chef Alan Murchison.
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