Fitbit and Dexcom have announced a collaborative effort to aid people with diabetes better manage their health and provide them with a more comprehensive understanding of their health.
Dexcom, which is the leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has announced plans to bring its CGM data to Fitbit's Ionic smartwatch. This collaborative effort will allow diabetic patients with an Ionic smartwatch and either an Android or iOS device to monitor their glucose levels as well as activity levels right from their wrist.
James Park, CEO of Fitbit, spoke of the partnership and said:
“The strength of our brand and our ability to track critical health metrics continuously for up to 4+ days, coupled with Dexcom’s market leadership in CGM, present a powerful combination that we hope will help millions of people better manage their diabetes.”
“With Ionic, we are focused on driving positive health outcomes and more health focused tools, and this collaboration is a wonderful example of how we plan to bring that vision to our users.”
The Ionic smartwatch will be the first device by Fitbit to display CGM data. It is important to note that this partnership will not give the Ionic smartwatch its own CGM tracking capabilities but rather it will allow for the integration, aggregation, and display of data from a paired Dexcom CGM tracking device on an Ionic smartwatch.
The President and CEO of Dexcom, Kevin Sayer also added that:
"The collaboration between Dexcom and Fitbit is an important step in providing useful information to people with diabetes that is both convenient and discreet"
"We believe that providing Dexcom CGM data on Fitbit Ionic, and making that experience available to users of both Android and iOS devices, will have a positive impact on the way people manage their diabetes.”
The press release also stated that users with the Dexcom CGM display app on the Fitbit smartwatch will now have the ability to connect with millions of people "where they can ask questions, seek support and share successes in managing their health." This will be made possible via Fitbit's in-app Community function.
CGM tracking will not be available upon the release of the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch but will be provided in an update that will arrive later, with both companies targeting a release "as soon as possible in 2018".
Fitbit and Dexcom have plans to continue to work together in strategic partnership to develop tools and resources targeted at helping diabetes patients.
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