New world first type 1 diabetes technology

Glucoboy meets Gameboy

It’s Glucoboy meets Gameboy- the latest meter to improve diabetes management.

Glucoboy encourages children with type 1 diabetes to test their blood glucose levels by unlocking new characters and secret game levels available in one of five games.

The world launch of Glucoboy will be held at Diabetes Australia-NSW headquarters in Glebe, Sydney, Australia, on November 14 to coincide with the World Diabetes Day theme this year, ‘diabetes in children and adolescents’.

Some of the characters include Commander Coda, a galaxy hopping maverick who fights his way through a planet of aliens to rescue the admiral’s daughter, Janet, and Hunter, a regular boy, who takes on Carnie Cal and his evil clowns.

To avoid extra testing to accumulate more points, the device is programmed to only accept the recommended six tests a day.

The device was invented by an American businessman Paul Wessel, funded by an Australian investment bank and jointly marketed by Diabetes Australia-NSW.

The history of Glucoboy

Paul Wessel of Loretto in Minnesota invented Glucoboy after his son Luke, who has type 1 diabetes, deliberately kept losing his blood glucose meter because he hated testing.

Yet, Mr Wessel discovered that when Luke misplaced his Nintendo Gameboy, he found it within minutes.

“Luke immediately went to the couch and lifted up one of the cushions and lo and behold there was his Gameboy,” he says.

“That moment something came to me – if I could combine blood glucose testing and video gaming technologies, perhaps Luke would be more motivated to test”.

Mr Wessel said he designed Glucoboy to help other parents avoid what he went through with Luke.

He said Glucoboy was designed to turn a daily regimen of finger pricking and blood glucose testing, hated by most children who have type 1 diabetes, to motivate them to manage their disease.

Why launch Glucoboy in Australia?

Mr Wessel said he launched Glucoboy in Australia because he had received funding from an Australian investment bank and because of the support for his devices from Diabetes Australia-NSW.

He formed a partnership with Diabetes Australia-NSW because he thought the charity’s diabetes advocacy, awareness, research and education were innovative and produced results.

“I liked what Diabetes Australia-NSW is doing in Australia to support people with diabetes and they understood what I was trying to accomplish with Glucoboy,” Mr Wessel says.

Liz Peers, CEO of Diabetes Australia-NSW says this is the most exciting and innovative blood glucose monitoring system she has ever seen.

“There is finally a device that addresses the needs of children with diabetes in this way,” Ms Peers says.

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For more information about Glucoboy visit www.diabetesnsw.com.au