Note: This is an excerpt from my most recent column at Medscape.com (full post at Medscape).
Recently, I was given a first look at a fresh take on BG monitoring, created by artist and technologist Justus Harris. Justus is an artist and technologist based in Oakland, California, and Chicago who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 14 years. He is blazing a new trail by bringing together personalized health data and the tactile world, creating 3-dimensional (3D) data visualization sculptures.
Often the most exciting innovations happen at the intersection of disciplines, such as the intersection of art, technology, and medicine. Sitting at this crossroads, Justus created an object that can be viewed through many different lenses. As an art gallery piece, it is a form of self-expression for someone struggling with a chronic disease, using art to humanize the BG numbers that he lives with on a daily basis. As a medical education tool, it is a very creative method that connects a patient with his BG data in a 3D, tactile, and visual fashion. This approach could even become a way for someone with low health literacy to rapidly understand whether his diabetes is in good or poor control, beyond what glycated hemoglobin conveys.
To read the full post, please go to the article at Medscape.com (note: you will need to sign in to Medscape to access it)