The GSMA mHealth Grand Tour kicked off at the Autoworld Museum in Brussels, Belgium, on September 5. Over the next 12 days, six teams of cyclists, all of them living with diabetes, will travel 1,304 miles through several countries in Europe, arriving in Barcelona, Spain on September 18.
“There are 55 million people living with diabetes in Europe, and about 10 percent of the overall EU annual healthcare expenditure is being spent on diabetes,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer of the GSMA, in a press release.
A key aspect of the cycling tour is the fact that the riders will be equipped with mHealth tools to monitor their blood glucose levels.
“GSMA research, developed in partnership with PwC, has already shown that mHealth can save 5 million people in the EU from being at risk of developing diabetes by 2017. The mHealth Grand Tour will highlight how mobile technology can support diabetes prevention, diagnosis and treatment by increasing the reach and accessibility of healthcare services, cutting the cost of care and minimizing the impact of the illness on people’s lives.”
The Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitor worn by riders will integrate with bike-mounted computers, transmitting data over the ANT+ protocol to Sony Mobile handsets, which the riders can use to monitor themselves. This information will also be transmitted through an HMM module, part of an Orange solution, to a cloud-based portal. Researchers and medical officials will view the data through a McCann Health portal, and use a geolocation portal provided by Orange to track rider progress.
All technologies involved in the ride will operate on Continue Health standards for interoperability.
Source: http://www.mhealthtour.com
