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Bluetooth Low Energy insulin injection monitor records dosage information and wirelessly transmits data to smartphone app
DIABNEXT’s ‘CLIPSULIN’ device attaches to insulin pens and employs Nordic’s nRF52832 SoC to wirelessly send recorded insulin injection data via Bluetooth LE or NFC.
Nordic Semiconductor today announces that Taiwan-based DIABNEXT, a healthcare services company, has selected Nordic’s nRF52832 System-on-Chip (SoC) to provide the Bluetooth® Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) wireless connectivity for its ‘CLIPSULIN’ insulin injection monitoring and recording device.
CLIPSULIN attaches to all commonly used disposable and reusable insulin pens and employs a vibration sensor to accurately detect insulin dosage, enabling the user to record their injected insulin units. Using Bluetooth LE or Near Field Communication (NFC) wireless connectivity provided by the Nordic SoC, the data is automatically transmitted to the user’s Bluetooth 4.0 (or later) smartphone, from where the patient can then retrieve important information such as the dosage, date, and time of injection from the ‘DIABNEXT’ app. The iOS- and Android-compatible app functions as a digital logbook for a diabetes patient, not only recording their treatment data, but also enabling the patient to monitor blood sugar levels and physical activity.
As a non-rechargeable device powered by a CR2032 coin cell battery, CLIPSULIN relies on the low power and low sleep-current capabilities of the Nordic SoC to extend the device’s battery life. The nRF52832 SoC has been engineered to minimize power consumption with features such as the 2.4GHz radio’s 5.5mA peak RX/TX currents and a fully-automatic power management system that reduces power consumption by up to 80 percent compared with Nordic’s nRF51 Series SoCs. The result is a Bluetooth LE solution which offers 58 CoreMark/mA, up to twice as power efficient as competing devices.
CLIPSULIN attaches to all commonly used disposable and reusable insulin pens and employs a vibration sensor to accurately detect insulin dosage, enabling the user to record their injected insulin units. Using Bluetooth LE or Near Field Communication (NFC) wireless connectivity provided by the Nordic SoC, the data is automatically transmitted to the user’s Bluetooth 4.0 (or later) smartphone, from where the patient can then retrieve important information such as the dosage, date, and time of injection from the ‘DIABNEXT’ app. The iOS- and Android-compatible app functions as a digital logbook for a diabetes patient, not only recording their treatment data, but also enabling the patient to monitor blood sugar levels and physical activity.
As a non-rechargeable device powered by a CR2032 coin cell battery, CLIPSULIN relies on the low power and low sleep-current capabilities of the Nordic SoC to extend the device’s battery life. The nRF52832 SoC has been engineered to minimize power consumption with features such as the 2.4GHz radio’s 5.5mA peak RX/TX currents and a fully-automatic power management system that reduces power consumption by up to 80 percent compared with Nordic’s nRF51 Series SoCs. The result is a Bluetooth LE solution which offers 58 CoreMark/mA, up to twice as power efficient as competing devices.
Nordic’s Software Development Kit and comprehensive reference designs made the development process significantly easier
Alice Cheng, DIABNEXT
Nordic’s
nRF52832 multiprotocol SoC combines an 64MHz, 32-bit Arm® Cortex® M4F
processor with a 2.4GHz multiprotocol radio (supporting Bluetooth 5,
ANT™, and proprietary 2.4GHz RF protocol software) featuring -96-dB RX
sensitivity, with 512kB Flash memory and 64kB RAM. The SoC also features
an NFC-A Tag for use with simplified pairing and payment solutions. The
nRF52832 is supplied with Nordic’s S132 SoftDevice, a Bluetooth
5-certifed RF software protocol stack for building advanced Bluetooth LE
applications. The S132 SoftDevice features Central, Peripheral,
Broadcaster and Observer Bluetooth LE roles, supports up to twenty
connections, and enables concurrent role operation.
“We chose
the nRF52832 SoC for the CLIPSULIN device primarily for its compact
size, low power consumption, stable radio sensitivity, and NFC
functionality,” says Alice Cheng, Head of Development &
Manufacturing at DIABNEXT. “Furthermore, the SoC’s generous Flash memory
allocation enables efficient over-the-air firmware updates.
“Nordic’s
Software Development Kit and comprehensive reference designs made the
development process significantly easier, while Nordic engineers were
always quick to respond to any technical issues we encountered.”
