Ferramenta de controle glicêmico com interface auditiva, alertas e conectividade wi-fi para diabéticos com dificuldades visuais

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a non-transmissible chronic disease that can cause several complications when untreated, including diabetic retinopathy, the major cause of acquired blindness. The treatment of the disease consists of the control of the glycemia level, which is only possible through a monitoring routine. Glucose monitors, also known as glucometers, help in self-care with the disease, however, most of the commercialized models provide only a visual user interface, making it difficult or impossible to be used by individuals with reduced visual acuity. The objective of this project was to develop a blood glucose monitoring instrument that emitted clear warnings and instructions to facilitate glycemic control with precision, providing autonomy and independence for diabetic patients with visual difficulties. The device was designed using the Arduino microcontroller-based development platform. A speaker sound interface was implemented with predefined alert phrases, a web interface for configurations and data access, and reverse-engineering the operation of biosensor strips for use in the prototype. The results presented a prototype device with a functional speaker interface, with sound quality tested and validated, accuracy of measurements very similar to the commercial apparatus used in the comparisons, as well as other features expected from a commercial appliance. It is also planned to validate the instrument by a control group with diabetic individuals who present visual difficulties.