The Sweet Tooth of Technology

Shivtosh Kumar, Co-founder and Product Head, Sugar.fit. tells us how real-time data, sensors, wearables and precision plans are being used in the space of diabetic healthcare.

Where does Sugar.fit use technology in its backend, infra and customer-facing areas—and why?

Sugar.fit is an innovative HealthTech startup that seeks to help people prevent, manage and reverse Type II diabetes and pre-diabetes through a highly consumer-centric and data-driven digital health experience. Sugar.fit combines technology with science and human coaching to transform the experience of a person living with a chronic condition. We have created a connected ecosystem which collects user parameters on a daily basis and creates dynamic and personalised nutrition, fitness and mindfulness plans that are easy to follow. We combine CGM (continuous glucose monitor) data, Glucometer reading data, Blood work data, and fitness device data like heart rate, heart rate variability, steps, calories burned, sleep etc. to create a personalised metabolic model for every user.

How does it help with customization?

This real-time data helps us in understanding the impact of different food, fitness, sleep, and other activities on our metabolic health. Based on this we can create a precision nutrition plan, understand the timing of fueling for a fitness activity, and understand the quality of sleep. We understand the current lifestyle of each user and accordingly create simple interventions which users can follow. These interventions become healthy habits and can drive sustainable results. 90 per cent of our users are seeing a significant drop in their blood sugar levels along with a drastic reduction in medication and weight and are on track for diabetes reversal. 

90 per cent of our users are seeing a significant drop in their blood sugar levels.

How are you using AI and Deep Tech for personalised analytics, and integrated devices and testing? Is tech helping you in your claims of 'diabetes reversal'?

Tech is pivotal in creating an effective diabetes reversal program at Sugar.fit. We use deep integrations to collect all possible data about the user including but not limited to health info, multiple biomarkers, and lifestyle and fitness data. Machine Vision and AI are used to extract rich information from text, speech and even images and videos pertaining to users.

The data is run through another set of AI models to replicate the metabolism of the user and understand the impact of changes in external factors on glucose levels. Our users can visualise these in real-time and even in advance to take precautionary measures. The systems can alert users and our health experts in case of any spikes in users’ glucose levels, who then decide on a course of action to minimise the adverse impact of the same.

We have built a rich data repository of fitness and nutrition data, and the engines we have built can predict the impact that each can have on different cohorts of users. Our recommendation engines help create a very personalised and effective reversal program for users. 

Is the Indian healthcare ecosystem connected and seamless enough to make such apps deliver a wider, instant, anywhere and lifelong value to a user?

The future of healthcare has to be seamlessly integrated. HealthTech players are working towards creating a connected ecosystem. For chronic conditions, it is even more necessary because the symptoms of patients with chronic diseases are multifaceted and often involve teaming up of doctors, nutritionists, fitness experts and caregivers. Robust EMR will enable care teams to do so. And at Sugar.fit, we have made sure that users find all the relevant data in our app. All their fitness wearables are seamlessly integrated into our app. The integrated CGM sensors which help us get real-time glucose data directly on the app. All your activity loggings are seamless on the Sugar.fit app. Blood work data and all prescriptions from the doctor and coaches are also fed into the system. Our EMR system enables seamless data exchange between doctors, nutritionists, diagnostic labs, and users.

By doing so we have created a connected and seamless ecosystem which helps provide a very personalised solution for each individual. 

What next are you excited about? 

We firmly believe that medical expertise combined with deep technology and a layer of empathetic coaching is the solution for managing any chronic care conditions like type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, gestational diabetes, PCOS CVD, obesity etc. The tech solution that we have built at Sugarfit is so robust that it can be used for all chronic care solutions. We will soon be going live with gestational diabetes and PCOS products.

Shivtosh Kumar, Co-founder and Product Head, Sugar.fit

By Pratima H

pratimah@cybermedia.co.in