An adaptive mealtime bolus calculator to minimize the effects of inaccurate carbohydrate counting

Abstract

Evidence suggests that accurate carbohydrate counting along with self-monitoring of blood glucose is the key to a successful diabetes management, in particular for patients on intensive insulin regimens. However, despite its benefits, accurate carbohydrate counting is a complex, difficult, time-consuming, and error-prone task for most patients. Several studies show that most patients frequently estimate the carbohydrate content of meals within an error of about 10-15 g of the real value. In addition, fearing hypoglycemic events, patients frequently underestimate the carbohydrate content of meals and, consequently, they have high levels of HbA1C. Therefore, is important to avoid the consequences of incorrect carbohydrate counting in order to improve the patient’s glycemic control. To that end, this work presents an adaptive mealtime bolus calculator that uses the patient’s glycemic data to dynamically adjust the mealtime bolus and counterbalance the negative effects of inaccurate carbohydrate counting.