Pearl is an AI-powered Tandem insulin pump to help manage diabetes.

In an article in the Financial Times, author Patti Waldmeir discusses her use of an AI device named “Pearl” to manage her diabetes. Pearl is an AI-powered insulin pump that helps regulate her blood glucose levels by predicting fluctuations and administering insulin as needed. Waldmeir calls this pump her new artificial pancreas.

Waldmeir emphasizes the potential benefits of this AI for seniors’ healthcare. She also mentions other AI-driven projects for aging adults, including heat-sensor algorithms for frailty detection, voice monitoring for cognitive impairment, and earbud-based tracking of vascular aging.

Waldmeir envisions AI assistance in accurately determining mealtime insulin dosages and highlights the advantages of generative AI in offering quick suggestions for medical concerns. Pearl could be crucially helpful for patients of diabetes – a disease that afflicts more than 400 million people globally.

However, the article acknowledges the potential risks and limitations of AI, including the possibility of scams and resistance to technology among older adults. Furthermore, the financial aspect and potential Medicare coverage for AI technologies, however, are cause for concern, particularly for seniors.

On costs, Waldmeir says she got advice from ChatGPT on how to get a free, discounted or refurbished insulin pump. This would be helpful “to pay the costs of growing old in the US — tethered at the hip to my AI buddy Pearl, the bionic pancreas,” she adds.

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Image by Tesa Robbins from Pixabay