Medical experts say new technologies advances have changed the landscape of diabetes management.

Information reveals that diabetes treatment and care have changed considerably over the years with the development of new medical technologies. From talking meters to continuous glucose monitors, Professor Eugene Sobngwi, Endocrinologist and Diabetologist at the Yaounde Central Hospital says these recent innovations have made it possible to better control and manage diabetes patients.

Glucose monitoring is a small machine to check the blood sugar of patients. It is a test system used at home to measure the amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood. Prof Sobngwi says this has improved in the precision of sugar level in the blood. While it is cost effective, its small size makes it easy to be used at anytime and anywhere. 

However, the specialist notes that there are also devices for continuous blood glucose measurement which have a small censor inserted under the skin to monitor blood sugar at every minute throughout the day. Experts say this devise helps in normalising glucose levels in patients at all times and also to monitor situations such as when glucose levels can drop given the danger it has on the individual.

This is better than the traditional glucose meter where someone has to prick the finger each time he/she wants to know his sugar level. Although expensive, Prof Sobngwi says the devices are available in the country and of utmost importance to those who need them. Technology has also improved the administration of insulin in diabetes treatment. Years back, insulin which is useful for the treatment of diabetes has been administered only through syringes. But today, diabetes experts say insulin pens have been developed with a very little needle that allows the administration of insulin with very little pain.

Although the injection of insulin is becoming less and less painful, experts say it is also becoming more precise since the pen will draw just the required amount of insulin needed by the body. Besides insulin pens, there are also the insulin pumps which are small devices about the size of a cell phone. The pump can be clipped onto the waistband of a patient’s pants or skirt or placed in a pocket.

A length of plastic tubing connects the insulin reservoir within the pump to the infusion set, which is taped onto the skin and contains a small catheter (often called a cannula), through which insulin enters the body. The catheter is commonly inserted into the abdomen or buttocks and needs to be changed every 48 hours.

It is also revealed that other new medications such as implants are being put in place to administer insulin. Prof. Sobngwi however notes that all these new technologies for now concern a limited percentage of patients in Cameroon who will still need to be using the traditional way of treating diabetes because some of these devices are not only expensive but rare to find. The expert insists that with the methods used now, it is possible to properly control diabetes thereby enabling patients to live a normal life void of complications.