Lifestyle of diabetes patients improves with Diameter app from Twente

The digital care aid will be deployed within ZGT starting in early 2024. Before that, a small group of patients will be asked to work with the app. Once the app works optimally and users are satisfied, it will be made available to a larger group of patients. The ultimate goal is that the digital care aid can also be used for diabetes patients outside hospitals: by GPs, for example.

People with diabetes are often told to work on their lifestyle. But how do you work on something like that? And how do you keep it up? These questions prompted researchers and doctors to develop Diameter. Professor and medical specialist Goos Laverman: “We know that the burden of chronic conditions, especially diabetes, can be immensely improved by changing the patient’s lifestyle. The Diameter has a monitoring component and a coaching component. Physical activity, nutrition, and glucose levels are measured and translated into personalised, digital, and automated coaching. Users receive messages tailored to their situation to help them keep their glucose levels within the target range. We have found that this drastically improves the patient’s lifestyle. A significant added benefit is that it means patients only need to see a doctor when their situation calls for it, rather than every three or four months, as is now the standard.

Laverman: “We extensively tested the app’s first version with people under treatment at ZGT. These tests gave us insight into the app’s usability and its effect on blood sugar levels and eating and exercise behaviour. But we also looked at the messages being sent to users. What does the user need, what kind of message works best, and what does not? These studies eventually led to an app that we are incredibly proud of. But we are not there yet; it is great that the app is there and appreciated, but we want to keep improving. Ancora Health will work on the further development and professionalisation of the digital care aid.”

“We entered into a multi-year partnership with Ancora Health, which allows us to incorporate research and the experiences of patients into the app quickly. We can quickly find out what adjustments have a positive effect by deploying the app and researching at the same time. We will be able to immediately implement them for our patients. This way, we can reduce the (usually long) time to get from research to practice.”