Throughout the Covid pandemic one message that has come through loud and clear is the importance of testing. We test to prove we are clear of the disease and are therefore free to take part in certain activities. And we test so that if we do have a Covid infection we can take action, either to avoid spreading it to others or to receive treatment which could save our life.
That testing is important because we may not know we have Covid and only testing will tell us for sure. So testing has proved to be a positive health force.
In the week ended 8 May 2021 the Office for National Statistics estimated that in the UK some 47,000 people had Covid. [1] In the same week, it is estimated that some 900,000 people in the UK might well be suffering from a different pandemic disease but don’t know it.
Millions more have a pre-condition which could result in them going on to develop the disease within ten years. It isn’t infectious to others, but it does have the potential to kill unless treated appropriately. That condition is diabetes.
Diet, lifestyle, and obesity all contribute to the growing problem of diabetes across the globe. So, unfortunately, does a lack of testing. Pre-diabetes and even some milder forms of diabetes don’t tend to show up in day-to-day life. But Covid has shown us the value of testing and we need to apply the same innovative approaches and rigour to increase diabetes identification. That way we can help to prevent the rise of a condition which doctors have called a pandemic; bring early interventions and treatment to people and in the process helping them to avoid diabetes complications such as kidney, eye, circulation and heart problems.
Occuity was born out of a desire to develop a non-invasive testing device which would help to identify those with pre-diabetes or who already had diabetes but were unaware of it. We have a vision that accessible, mobile diagnostic health devices will make repetitive invasive monitoring a thing of the past. By deploying innovative technologies we can help to boost diabetes testing and identification; in the process helping people to live healthier lives and reduce the burden on health services.
Diabetes is a growing problem but it doesn’t have to be. If you share our vision then sign up today to join our diabetes community. Simply by participating in surveys or by sharing your story you can help us to turn vision into reality; preventing millions worldwide from suffering unnecessarily from a preventable and treatable condition.
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