DiAs user interface: a patient-centric interface for mobile artificial pancreas systems.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Endocrinology

Background:

• In-hospital artificial pancreas (AP) studies show improved glycemic control for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
• Transitional outpatient trials with patient-controlled mobile AP systems are the next developmental phase.
• This study introduces the Diabetes Assistant (DiAs) smartphone-based AP user interface (UI) and user feedback.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the user interface (UI) of the Diabetes Assistant (DiAs) mobile AP system.
• To describe user reactions to the DiAs UI through focus groups.
• To evaluate the feasibility of a smartphone-based AP system for outpatient T1DM management.

Main Methods:

• Designed a touch-based graphical UI for a smartphone.
• Conducted heuristic expert analysis with a human factors specialist.
• Performed formative evaluation via three focus groups with 13 potential users.

Main Results:

• The DiAs UI was refined based on user feedback from focus groups.
• The DiAs system was utilized in outpatient AP studies across the US and Europe.
• 40 subjects used DiAs for 2400 hours without adverse events.

Conclusions:

• Adult T1DM patients can effectively control an AP system via a patient-centric smartphone UI.
• The DiAs system demonstrates successful application in transitional outpatient environments.
• Smartphone-based AP systems offer a viable solution for T1DM management outside clinical settings.