Smart technology and research to tackle diabetes.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 14, 2018:   On World Diabetes Day, which takes place on November 14 every year, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) discussed to use of incorporating technology to provide holistic care to those with the disease.

DHA is working with several international firms at the Dubai Future Accelerator’s initiative to evaluate and incorporate new technology to treat and manage the disease.  

Senior DHA officials including Dr Younis Kazim, CEO of Dubai Healthcare Corporation (DHC) and Dr Ahmad Bin Kalban, CEO of the Specialised Healthcare Services Sector, met with the companies at DFA, to discuss the use of latest technology in diabetes management.

Dr Mohammed Redha, Director of Project Management Office, Informatics and Smart Health at the DHA said that the authority is keen to foster the use of technology in the health care space as technology also has the power to transform lives and directly improves patient care.

Dr. M. Hamed Farooqi, Director of Dubai Diabetes Centre at the DHA said, “DHA has always been at the forefront of embracing new technology leading to better patient outcomes. One example is the utilization of the Freestyle Libre blood glucose monitoring system. DHA was the first entity in the UAE to offer it to its patients as a means to avoid multiple needle sticks during the day.”

Abdulla Juma, Director of Administrative Affairs at Dubai Diabetes Centre said, “Given the high prevalence of diabetes and the fact that poor management can lead to a host of complications, it is imperative to proactively incorporate the use of technology to treat and empower patients to self-check and track their health.”

Scanbo is one of the companies working with the DHA’s Dubai Future Accelerators office. The company is an AI based healthcare startup that innovated a device and a platform that enables patients and doctors to monitor human vitals. The patient simply needs to place his fingers on the device and in less than two minutes; the device provides accurate details of blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, ECG, blood sugar and oxygen levels.  

The second company at the exhibition was Medtronic and it displayed its state-of-the-art insulin pumps and sensors. They have an insulin pump sensor that mimics some of the functions of a healthy pancreas and adjusts the dosage according to the patient’s daily activity. 

Johnson and Johnson displayed its latest glucometers and software monitoring devices. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (BG) is a necessity for every diabetic and the company presented its latest blood glucose monitoring system that helps diabetics keep track of their health and accurately measure their blood sugar levels.

Cognitive Healthcare International (CHI) helps monitor and thus manage the health of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma and chronic renal disease in their home environment.  This is achieved through multiple monitoring devices connected through a patient app to a Command Centre. The Command Centre continuously monitors the data and escalates it to the treating physician.  The physicians have their own app to help coordinate the treatment closing the care pathway loop. 

Nabed is a highly specialized and innovative health content delivery platform dedicated to engaging patients by communicating educational health content and empowering health practitioners with tools to better serve their patients. 

In addition to this, thanks to the grants received by Al Jalila Foundation, DHA endocrinologists are also carrying out comprehensive research in diabetes treatment and management.

Sulaiman Baharoun, Director of Partnerships and Sustainability at Al Jalila Foundation said, “Al Jalila Foundation encourages groundbreaking research through specialist knowledge, expertise and resources across a range of scientific disciplines to support regionally-relevant medical advancements. With an estimated 1 in 5 people diagnosed with diabetes in the UAE it is evident that there is a critical need to invest in relevant local research and drive awareness to the subject. To date, Al Jalila Foundation has awarded 15 grants dedicated to Diabetes research in the UAE.”

Dima Abdelmannan, Consultant Endocrinologist at DHA’s Dubai Diabetes Centre and Associate Clinical Dean at Dubai Medical College is researching the development of a simple test for the assessment of future type 2 diabetes mellitus risk in people with normal glucose tolerance. 

Dr Fatheya Al Awadi, Consultant Endocrinologist and Head of Endocrine Department at Dubai Hospital and Dr Mohammed Hassanein, endocrinologist at Dubai Hospital are researching ways to reduce complications in high-risk diabetic patients during the Holy month of Ramadan.