Our Younger Generation Tackles Diabetes
Four friends studying at the Dresden University of Technology in Germany have developed a lifestyle app for individuals who are living with diabetes.
This is the story of their inspiring journey and a sneak peak of what can be accomplished when young new minds and diabetes collide.
Lucia, Almuth, Johannes and Matthias are four friends who were inspired to put their college education to use. We talked to the group in an exclusive interview and discovered this project was inspired when a mutual friend was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The four of them decided to take advantage of modern technology and create an app that would aid in the support of the day-to-day challenges faced by a diabetic. After extensive research on diabetes and metabolic syndrome, Metappolic was born.
What Does Metappolic Do?
Metappolic is a phone app that seeks to guide users towards a healthier lifestyle by providing a simple and convenient interface in which users can find personalized nutrition tips, exercise proposals and positive feedback. After recording data like blood sugar levels, physical activities and daily intake, the user can choose challenges and goals based on specialized feedback provided by Metappolic. To increase accountability and user interaction, patients can share their positive experiences and advancements on Facebook through the app.
Metappolic was developed with the understanding that the effective management of diabetes relies on a healthy lifestyle and successful self-management. During the research process, Lucia, Almuth, Johannes and Matthias worked with technical experts, doctors and researchers in the field like Professor Om Ganda from the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University.
Where They're Headed
The team recently won the final of the world’s premier student technology competition – The German Microsoft Imagine Cup. They will continue on to the international culmination of the competition in Saint Petersburg this month. The team competes with the hope of raising awareness about diabetes along with gaining further funding to support their project.
The first version of the application is set to be available for the Windows Phone this August. If you have diabetes and would like to be a part of the development process, take their survey here.
For more information, and to follow these students’ inspirational journey, check out their website.
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