Machine learning enhances diabetes care, education

Machine learning has immense potential for improving diabetes care, particularly when used by diabetes care and education specialists, according to two presenters at the American Association of Diabetes Educators annual meeting. "We are in no way saying, and I in no way believe at all, that machine learning will replace diabetes education," Mark Heyman, PhD, CDE, vice president of clinical operations of medical technology company One Drop, said during the presentation. "But we really want to understand how it fits within the context of the role of the educator." With new technology making it easier than ever to record information about blood glucose levels, physical activity and meals, among other parameters, the amount of personal health information is exploding. Finding easy ways to put these data to use can be a challenge, which is what machine learning aims to address.