Fresh Science

Queensland Fresh Scientist develops an App to help diabetes sufferers monitor their sugar levels and get the help they need more quickly

For immediate release, Tuesday 9 August 2016

A new diabetes App that can be loaded on smart devices looks set to streamline health care for Australia’s diabetes sufferers thanks to CSIRO / University of Queensland researcher, Dr Farhad Fatehi.

Farhad who combines his experiences as a medical doctor with his love of IT working at CSIRO’s Australian eHealth Research Centre as well as the University of Queensland Centre for Online Health, is one of ten 2016 Queensland Fresh Science finalists.

“Currently patients have to hand write the results of their blood glucose tests and then read or send these on to health professionals for assessment,” says Farhad.

“This can take some time and errors can creep into the process.”

“But with the new App, blood glucose readings can be blue-toothed directly from the glucose meter to the smart device and then to the doctors and nurses who receive the results in real time.

“This means health professionals can be alerted almost immediately to any issues. Complications like amputations, blindness and kidney failure may be more easily avoided.”

More than 1.5 million Australians suffer from diabetes and the numbers of new sufferers are increasing by about 100,000 people a year. This is costly to Australia’s health system and puts extra stress on health professionals.

Dr Fatehi believes the App means that health professionals can treat more patients at any one time and can do so with greater confidence in the data.

“This could mean a possible 10 per cent reduction on health care costs for diabetes every year,” he says.

The App provides immediate feedback to the patients of their condition through colour codes, charts and tables of their blood glucose readings. Farhad says patients can use this data to more accurately assess and understand their own condition

“This puts the patient front and centre of their own care,” he says. “They are more empowered, enabled and have more control over their own condition.”

Queensland Chief Scientist Dr Geoff Garrett says by bringing together science and technology, Dr Fatehi’s innovation has potential to help many tens of thousands of diabetes sufferers.

“Knowledge is power and having accurate data almost in real-time will help health professionals deliver better patient care,” Dr Garrett says.

Farhadis currently conducting a clinical trial on the App at the Princess Alexandra Hospital diabetes clinic.

Fresh Science is a national competition helping early-career researchers find, and then share, their stories of discovery. The program takes up-and-coming researchers with no media experience and turns them into spokespeople for science, giving them a taste of life in the limelight, with a day of media training and a public event in their home state.

Queensland Fresh Science is supported by: Queensland Government; Queensland University of Technology (QUT); University of the Sunshine Coast (USC); The University of Queensland; and Econnect Communication.

A short video is available explaining Farhad’s work

We can provide photos and broadcast quality footage of Farhad at work.

For media, video and photography assistance: Jenni Metcalfe, jenni@econnect.com.au; phone: 0408 551 866

For interview: Dr Farhad Fatehi, phone 0430 992 014; Email: f.fatehi@uq.edu.au

To talk to one of the diabetes sufferers involved in research, contact:  Ashley Procter on: 0407 183 789.