The Blood Sugar Monitor That Attaches to a DS

Making diabetes less deadly through gaming?

German pharmaceutical Bayer recently introduced the Didget, an add-on that plugs into a Nintendo DS or DS Lite. The idea is to get kids to lead more healthy lives, providing incentives through in-game rewards. The Didget will request for regular testing, unlocking levels if the user meets blood-glucose targets. Apparently kids suffering from diabetes don't like getting tested regularly, and Bayer hopes that integrating their testing solution with video games will make it more appealing.

Whether the system will take off remains to be seen, but are games really the way to help diabetic kids? Not all the in-demand DS games supports the Didget reward-based gameplay. And isn't best to get kids to exercise more and eat properly? Playing video games all day isn't exactly the most demanding physical activity around. And while those in-game rewards might affect eating habits for a while, they probably won't push diabetics to make genuine, life-saving changes to their lifestyle.

And from a more geeky perspective: what about DSi owners? The Didget retails in the US for $75 from a limited selection of pharmacies. Visit Bayer's product website for more details:

DIDGET blood glucose meter