Hypoglycemic Detection by Human Breath: A Mobile Health App that Alerts Diabetics of Low Blood Glucose

• Main Authors: A. Faiola, H. Vatani, M. Agarwal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) 2019-12-01
• Series: EAI Endorsed Transactions on Ambient Systems
• Subjects: hypoglycemia; diabetes; breathing sensor; mobile health; interface design; data visualization
• Online Access: https://eudl.eu/pdf/10.4108/eai.23-3-2018.162220

Low blood glucose (BG) or hypoglycemia (HYPO) can lead to severe health complications such as weakness and unconsciousness. To avoid problems BG self-management is needed. We developed a non-invasive breathing system (HYPOalert) to detect HYPO in human-breath, that sends warning alerts and data visualization to monitor progress. This paper presents two HYPOalert prototype iterations with testing results. Of 14 Type 1/2 diabetics tested, only 10% werepleased with existing monitoring systems and 85% expressed interest in using HYPOalert more than 20x a day. The usability study showed that 92% agreed-strongly agreed with the HYPOalert design, including color/menus/navigation/typography; and 64% felt positive about the apps consistency, flexibility, and info architecture. A post-test survey provided a satisfaction score: 6.64/10, with an open-ended interview showing that HYPOalert could positively impact lifestyle practices, self-managing, and help advance an understanding of the disease.