Sensyne Health has announced the development of DBm-Health, a new software application for people with diabetes.
Its intended user population will cover all stages of the disease including individuals at risk of developing diabetes, as well as those with a diagnosis of pre-diabetes, type 1 or type 2.
DBm-Health is designed to connect people with diabetes with the clinician responsible for their care, and provide their clinician with information on the status of the patient, and whether any intervention may be required.
Dr Lucy Mackillop, chief medical officer of Sensyne Health, said: “We are responding to the urgent need of NHS Trusts for new digital technologies to optimally care for patients with diabetes. DBm-Health will help ensure the highest quality information is securely available to clinicians from patients who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and are advised to stay at home during the pandemic. We are responding to an urgent clinical need utilising our prior track record with the award-winning remote monitoring system GDm-Health.”
DBm-Health is being developed in response to increasing demand from clinicians to be able to care for and advise their patients with diabetes remotely, i.e. without the need for face-to-face consultation. In the UK diabetes currently costs the NHS around £9.8 billion a year. In the US the total cost of diagnosed diabetes is $327 billion with medical costs for people with diabetes running at twice the level of people that do not have the disease.
DBm-Health follows the GDm-Health product for the management of diabetes in pregnancy. Sensyne Health has received direct requests during the pandemic from NHS Trusts to provide a software application like GDm-Health that may be used for people required to regularly self-monitor their blood glucose given the rapidly increasing need for remote monitoring.
GDm-Health has now achieved a market share of 47% across the NHS in England and is currently undergoing clinical evaluation by Jefferson Health in the United States. In response to the demand, the company has accelerated its plans to develop DBm-Health.
The first clinical use of DBm-Health will be undertaken by three NHS Trusts over the coming months to evaluate the health-economic and operational benefits of DBm-Health. The company intends to launch DBm-Health in the United States towards the end of the current financial year.
Lord (Paul) Drayson, CEO of Sensyne Health, said: “I am very proud of the speed at which the Sensyne team has responded to this clinical need and the clear demonstration of the scalability of the platform we have built at Sensyne. We are acutely aware of the concerns of diabetic patients and the people that care for them, and of the additional burden that COVID-19 has brought to the management of this complex and potentially life-threatening condition. Rapid uptake of DBm-Health in the UK has the potential to make a significant difference to diabetes care in the NHS and provides a strong foundation to launch DBm-Health in the USA later this financial year.”
