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| Animas Vibe--Courtesy of Animas Canada |
Johnson & Johnson's ($JNJ) Animas is working with Type 1 diabetes technology nonprofit Tidepool to use its open-source software platform to assemble and analyze data for diabetes device, fitness and food tracking. The news comes in the wake of announcements in recent months from major diabetes device makers, including Medtronic ($MDT), DexCom ($DXCM) and Insulet ($PODD), that they are partnering with startup Glooko to similarly enable connectivity as well as data transmission and analysis.
Under the deal with Animas, Tidepool will be used to combine data for a particular patient from multiple diabetes devices or fitness trackers. The pair said they would start work now to make Tidepool applications usable for the Animas Vibe Insulin Pump and CGM System as well as its OneTouch Ping Glucose Management System. Like J&J, Tandem Diabetes Care ($TNDM) opted to partner with Tidepool last fall.
"Collaborations like this one enable us to bring meaningful innovations to those who need them today, while continuing to work collectively towards more solutions for this difficult disease in the future," John Wilson, VP of Insulin Delivery for the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Solutions Companies, said in a statement.
Tidepool already has a trio of open-source Type 1 diabetes management applications. These include Blip, which combines data from insulin pumps, monitors and tests as well as on meals, exercise and sleep. The idea is to collect all the relevant data in one place to enable better decision-making by the doctor and patient.
It also has Nutshell, which is specifically focused on how food choices impact a patient's diabetes, and Sonar, a decision support tool that actively offers recommendations based upon an analysis of the aggregated diabetes data inputs collected.
"The human brain can't possibly process and store all the data that is generated by diabetes devices," commented Geoff Tobin in a statement. He is the father of a child with Type 1 diabetes who uses an Animas diabetes device.
He continued, "To effectively manage diabetes as a parent, we need great devices, but also intelligent software that can turn raw data into actionable information, and a social platform enabling parents and caregivers to collaborate. Animas has already delivered on the devices, and Tidepool will provide the other key components."
- here is the release