NEWBURY, England, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer Diabetes Care in the UK and Ireland today unveils “DIDGET(TM), the first and only blood glucose meter for kids with diabetes that connects directly to Nintendo DS(TM) and Nintendo DS(TM) Lite gaming systems. The DIDGET meter is designed to help kids manage this lifelong condition by rewarding them for building consistent blood glucose testing habits and meeting personalised glucose target ranges.
“One of the biggest challenges facing parents of children with diabetes is the constant struggle to instil the habit of regular blood glucose testing that is critical for consistent diabetes management,” says John Gregory, Professor in Paediatric Endocrinology, Wales School of Medicine, Cardiff University. “Bayer’s DIDGET meter can help ease the parent/child tension that testing often creates by adding an element of fun and rewards to the routine. Because it is designed with children in mind, Bayer’s DIDGET meter can transform a child’s blood glucose testing experience from something they have to do into something they want to do.”
Building on 40 years of experience, the company is now transforming how kids engage in their diabetes management by tapping into their existing passion for handheld gaming. Bayer’s DIDGET meter positively reinforces consistent testing habits by awarding points that kids can use to unlock new game levels and customise their gaming experience.
“The DIDGET meter is a revolutionary development in healthcare management. Up until now, blood glucose monitors have been created with adults in mind,” says Sandra Peterson, Head of Bayer Medical Care. “This product was inspired by a parent of a child with diabetes, to directly address the challenges facing kids with diabetes and their parents. Bayer’s DIDGET meter offers play with purpose to encourage kids to regularly monitor their blood glucose and begin to view regular testing as fun.”
The DIDGET meter, intended for use by kids aged 5-14, will also connect to Bayer’s DIDGET World (http://www.bayerdidget.co.uk), a new password-protected web community where kids can spend points that they earn from consistent monitoring practices and create their own page. Bayer’s DIDGET World is currently in development and will be available soon.
Bayer’s DIDGET meter grows with a child’s ability to manage his/her diabetes, offering two testing levels, Basic and Advanced. Self monitoring blood glucose is an essential tool in the optimal management of childhood and adolescent diabetes. Self monitoring blood glucose should be prescribed at a frequency to optimise each child’s diabetes control because frequency of self monitoring blood glucose correlates with glycaemic control(1). Bayer’s DIDGET meter is based on Bayer’s trusted CONTOUR® system and uses the same technology and test strips, providing the same easy accuracy, No Coding(TM) technology, automatic correction for haematocrit and common interfering substances including maltose, 5 second test time, a small (0.6 microL) sample size and automatic detection of control solution.
Bayer’s DIDGET meter comes with Knock ‘Em Downs(TM): World’s Fair which includes a full length adventure game and mini game arcade. Bayer’s DIDGET will be available soon. Visit http://www.bayerdidget.co.ukto find out more and register to be notified when Bayer’s DIDGET meter is available. Nintendo DS and DS Lite gaming systems are sold separately.
Bayer Diabetes Care UK is working in partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in the UK and GBP5 from the sale of every meter will be donated to the JDRF.
Diabetes in the UK
An estimated 25,000 children under the age of 18 in the UK have diabetes(2). Type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. In persons with type 1 diabetes, the body makes little or no insulin, and therefore people with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin for the rest of their lives (3). Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed in adults, although increasingly, children are being diagnosed with this condition. Type 2 is associated with obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity. In people with type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t make enough insulin, or the body is unable to utilise the insulin effectively. There are many therapies available, including insulin, for people with type 2 diabetes(4). All people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes must carefully balance food, medications, and activity level to keep blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible in order to avoid long term complications of diabetes (5).
About Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care
Bayer HealthCare, Diabetes Care supports customers in 100 countries and stands in a long tradition of leading the way in diabetes care product innovation since the introduction of CLINITEST reagent tablets in 1941. The face of diabetes care was changed in 1969 when the first portable blood glucose meter and test strips were introduced. Bayer HealthCare further innovated diabetes management by being the first company to introduce a suite of blood glucose monitors with No Coding(TM) technology. The BREEZE® 2 and CONTOUR® blood glucose monitoring systems offer people with diabetes an unparalleled choice in diabetes management systems. Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care global headquarters is located in Tarrytown, New York, in the United States and operates as part of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a member of the worldwide Bayer HealthCare group. The Headquarters for the region Europe-MERA is located in Basel as part of Bayer Consumer Care AG, in Basel.
About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of healthcare, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Bayer Schering Pharma, Consumer Care and Medical Care divisions. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Find more information at http://www.bayerhealthcare.com.
1. Rewers M, Pihoker C, Donaghue K et al. Assessment and monitoring of glycemic control in children and adolescents with diabetes. Pediatric Diabetes 2007: 8: 408-418
2. JDRF UK: http://www.jdrf.org.uk/page.asp?section=000100010004
3. NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetes/Pages/Introduction.aspx
4. NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Diabetes-type2/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/what-is-it.aspx
5. NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes-type2/Pages/Selfhelp.aspx
(Due to the length of the URL number 4, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser’s URL address field. Remove the space if one exists.)
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at http://www.bayer.com The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
Collateral available:
* Case study (mother and son with diabetes, aged 11 years) * Spokespeople: Bayer; KOL; Diabetes Specialist Nurse; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) + quote * B-Roll * Backgrounders: Bayer 40 year History; Diabetes Fact Sheet; Bayer Innovations in Diabetes Management Timeline * Photos of Bayer DIDGET glucose meter.
Media Contacts: Rachel Owen Bayer Diabetes Care +44-1635-563410 +44-7836-509262 rachel.owen.ro@bayer.co.uk
Gisela Lenz Bayer HealthCare +49-214-30-58080 gisela.lenz@bayerhealthcare.com
