Fujitsu Limited and Arkray, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to jointly develop a new support service for diabetics that links a blood glucose meter to a mobile phone. The new diabetes support service, called “Karada Life: Diabetes Support” – “karada” is the Japanese word for “body” – will be offered through Fujitsu. Up until now, diabetics had to rely on hand-written tracking for self-management of their disease, but this new service will make it easier to carry out these responsibilities that are essential to diabetes care, by performing functions such as automatically recording blood glucose levels,. The service is expected to be launched at the end of June 2011.
In conjunction with the launch of the new service, Fujitsu’s health and wellness services that utilize mobile phones and PCs, which had been named “Shintai Sokobo” – meaning “body sculpting studio” – are now being renamed “Karada Life,” as Fujitsu ultimately aims to provide services to meet a full range of healthcare needs ranging from disease prevention and health promotion to disease management support.
Background
There are approximately 8.9 million diabetics in Japan(1), and that number is expected to increase. Accordingly, awareness about diabetes is increasing every year, and progress is continually expanding on patient care programs for both diabetes and prediabetes patients.
The collaboration between Fujitsu and Akray brings together Fujitsu’s strengths in information and communications technology products and systems, including its cloud-based value-added services, with Arkray’s strengths in blood glucose monitoring systems. By delivering new support services to diabetes patients to meet a wide range of needs and thereby improve the quality of life of patients, the collaboration will help patients pursue healthy and rewarding lifestyles.
The service would enable diabetes patients to record their blood glucose levels every day, store records of their diet and exercise on a server, and manage this data in an integrated way through their mobile phones, making it easier for patients to carry out the self-management responsibilities that are essential to diabetes care.
New Name for Fujitsu’s Health Services Utilizing Mobile Phones and PCs
Fujitsu’s health and wellness services that utilize mobile phones and PCs, which had been named “Shintai Sokobo,” promoted the idea of helping users to “design your ideal body.” Under its new name, “Karada Life,” Fujitsu’s health services are now positioned to “help each person pursue a healthy and rewarding lifestyle.”
Features of Karada Life: Diabetes Support
1. Mobile phone makes it easy to manage blood glucose levels
Simply by connecting the mobile phone to the blood glucose meter using a special cable, blood glucose levels recorded by the meter will automatically be stored in the mobile phone. In addition, data from the mobile phone’s built-in pedometer are also automatically recorded, and the mobile phone makes it easy to manage other health-related data, such as diet, weight, blood pressure, and visits to the doctor.
2. Supports daily tracking
Users can see the daily progress in the improvements in their lives on their PC screens as well as their mobile phones. In addition, users can print a PDF file of trends in their recorded blood glucose levels and the status of their insulin injections, enabling tracking on a daily basis.
3. Family members can also participate in daily management
Users can e-mail their blood glucose results and other health-related data to family members or whomever else they designate, enabling family members to assist with daily management of the disease and its treatment.
Pricing and Availability
Service Name : Karada Life: Diabetes Support
User Fee: 525 JPY per month (expected)
Service Launch Date: End of June 2011 (scheduled)
Mobile Phones Supporting the Service (Provisional Listing)
Raku-Raku Phone Basic 3 (F-08C), Raku-Raku Phone 7 (F-09B), Raku-Raku Phone 6 (F-10A), Raku-Raku Phone V (F884iES), and Raku-Raku Premium (F884i)
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