Austin Lee
From watching his father struggle with type 2 diabetes, Austin Lee learned early on that managing diabetes involves careful daily recordings of details relating to blood sugar levels. This log allows a physician to evaluate a patient's food intake and lifestyle behaviours and how these are affecting the diabetes. "It's like looking at your bank account. You have to monitor continuously and follow up with your doctors to make sure that your body is in good shape. It's about preventing serious complications," says Dr. Lee, an inventor and materials science PhD graduate in Simon Fraser University's Department of Chemistry.
Motivated in part by his father's condition, Dr. Lee invented the Shield, a wireless glucose meter that attaches to a smartphone, allowing a person with diabetes to test blood sugar levels, then record them on an app, which a physician can access through a cloud database. By commercializing this smartphone device, Dr. Lee aims to pave the way for quick and effective interventions that can help to prevent the development of eye, kidney, feet and nerve conditions in people with diabetes.
Canada Foundation for Innovation More at innovation.ca
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