IBM and Roche Just Reimagined Diabetes Management with AI.
What if your phone could predict your blood sugar crashes before they happened, day or night? That is no longer science fiction and is, in fact, real and here.
In what promises to be a game-changer for diabetes care, IBM and Roche have launched the Accu-Chek Smart Guide Predict app—an AI-enabled digital tool that supports diabetes management by predicting future blood sugar levels in real time and in balance. People living with diabetes now finally have the upper hand instead of living in a reactive world.
Essentially, it is a weather forecast for your blood sugar.
From Being Reactive to Predictive: A New Era for Diabetes Management
Managing diabetes has always been a balancing act, checking levels, counting carbs, changing doses, worrying about lows at 2:00 a.m. But the SmartGuide Predict app, created by Roche, a diabetes care leader, and IBM, a global technology giant, is changing the game’s rules.
This app connects to Roche’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensor so you can use real-time data combined with IBM’s AI capability to not just know what’s happening with your glucose, but to project what’s going to happen next.
“This is the proactive support for people living with diabetes we have been looking for,” says Moritz Hartmann, Head of Roche Information Solutions. “And it’s not just a smarter tool; it’s empowerment through prediction.”
The Three Cutting-Edge Features that Could Transform Lives
SmartGuide Predict is unique in that it does not just give numbers: it gives confidence. Here’s how it has won over the diabetes community:
🌡️ 1. Glucose Predict: Know What’s Coming
This feature provides a two-hour blood sugar forecast. That’s correct—you can now see where your glucose levels are headed before they get there. Imagine if you could proactively manage your glucose levels when you are just starting to go up or down, not when it is spiraling out of control. This is like getting a traffic report before you head out for a drive—except way more important.
⚠️ 2. Low Glucose Predict: Your Warning System
For anyone who has ever experienced the dreadful plummet of hypoglycemia, this feature is a huge life-changer. The app will warn you up to 30 minutes in advance of an impending low. This gives you valuable time to take appropriate action and avoid a potentially dangerous low, without the guesswork.
🌙 3. Predict nighttime hypoglycemia: Sleep better tonight.
Overnight hypoglycemia is one of the scariest parts of managing diabetes. This feature predicts your risk of nighttime lows before bed. So instead of waking up sweating and shaky—or worse—you get some warning and can prevent it. It’s a simple feature that could provide peace of mind to millions.
And it’s not just for patients—it’s accelerating research too!
Behind the scenes, IBM and Roche are doing more than helping people manage their lives and diabetes day-to-day. They have created an innovative AI research tool on IBM’s Watson X platform, and it’s quietly changing the way we analyze clinical trial data.
Researchers no longer need to spend months manually digging through clinical trial data. Researchers can:
- Quickly digitize and classify anonymized clinical data
- Link blood glucose results in conjunction with lifestyle patterns
- Identify patterns of correlations and treatment options in significantly less time
This means faster breakthroughs, timely therapy insights, and more informed health care decisions, all thanks to AI.
The Real Magic: Two Worlds Collaborating for a Similar Goal
The real power of this project is not just the technology; it is the merging of two distinct strengths:
- IBM provides the power of AI and data mastery
- Roche has decades of experience and an understanding of patients in healthcare
“Our relationship with IBM demonstrates the real impact of collaboration across industries,” said Hartmann.
“Through the use of AI, we will not only improve therapy outcomes, accelerate innovations, but most importantly, improve patient outcomes.”
Christian Keller, General Manager of IBM Switzerland, agrees:
“This is not AI for AI’s sake, this is AI with a goal – to help real people with real challenges.”
What it Means for the Future of Health Care
Currently, this app will roll out only in Switzerland, but think of the implications globally. If this pilot continues to succeed, it can:
- Extend the predictive health tools to include additional chronic illnesses such as heart disease, asthma, or even Parkinson’s
- Provide the blueprint for the coexistence of AI and healthcare
- Mark an era where tech will not only support but also anticipate our needs as humans
In a world in which about 590 million people, or roughly a little more than 1 out of 9 adults, have diabetes, that whole continuum of reactive care to predictive care could change millions of lives, for good.
Final Forethought: AI for Better Sleep – Literally
As a human-scale innovation, it’s a win-win. The data gets optimized and the diagnostic path improved. Ultimately, it helps people with diabetes sleep a little better at night because the AI will be looking for the bad news for them while they sleep.
That’s the type of innovation that stands the test of time. Not because it is shiny or fancy, but because it is quietly beautiful, deeply personal, and unlike anything else, importantly needed.
For a visual overview of the Accu-Chek SmartGuide Predict app and its features, you can watch the following video: