The CEOs of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and International Business Machine (NYSE:IBM) yesterday unveiled a the fruits of the project they’ve been working on since last April, combining the IBM Watson artificial intelligence platform with Medtronic’s insulin management devices.
Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak joined IBM chief Ginni Rometty last night at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to unveil the app, which is designed to detect low blood sugar events before they happen.
A pilot study of anonymized data from 600 patients with Medtronic insulin pumps and glucometers, using “cognitive analytics” powered by Watson, found that the system could predict a hypoglycemic event up to 3 hours ahead, Medtronic’s diabetes president Annette Brüls wrote in a blog post yesterday.
“Our collaboration with IBM is aimed at providing personalized diabetes management. We’re building Medtronic apps that will apply cognitive computing to data from Medtronic devices (glucose monitors and insulin pumps) and we expect to include other information sources – such as GPS, wearable activity trackers, and calendar details. The solutions we’re co-developing with IBM may 1 day enable Medtronic to provide real-time insights and coaching to help people understand the impact of daily activities on their diabetes and make adjustments as needed,” Brüls wrote.
The Watson-powered system is slated for a limited release this summer, she told Forbes.