Doing a 180°: GlucoSense Transforms Diabetes Care
L-R: Gusmão, Fitch, and Chalhub
A person with Type 1 diabetes makes an average of 180 lifestyle choices every day. Whether it's skipping a workout, going out with friends, or staying up late to study, every decision for a diabetic must be intentional. Jonathan Fitch, CEO of GlucoSense and a Type 1 diabetic himself, knows this better than anyone.
Like generations of college students before him, Fitch pulled an all-nighter to prepare for a final exam. However, unlike a typical college student, Fitch's experience did not end with celebrating an "A" or pleading for extra credit — he ended up in the hospital. The combination of Fitch's stress levels, lack of sleep, and insulin pump resulted in conditions that caused his blood sugar to drop dangerously low, resulting in a seizure. While Fitch received a warning, the alert came too late. But as an engineering student at Georgia Tech and an innovator, Fitch used this event as a catalyst. He recognized the need for personalized technology to help himself and other diabetics avoid this type of frightening experience and set out to develop it.
Joining forces with fellow Georgia Tech alums, Cole Chalhub, COO, and Gabriel Gusmão, CTO, Fitch created GlucoSense, software that manages glucose levels by predicting the kind of day the user should prepare to experience. GlucoSense collects information from users' fitness trackers, insulin pumps, and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to synthesize the day's data all into one place, making it easier for diabetics to understand how their lifestyles impact their blood sugar levels.
Each day and activity the user undergoes is also given a "GlucoScore," a rating from 1 to 10 that assesses their glucose management throughout the day. Between records and charts of the user's history, personalized insights, and the GlucoScore, GlucoSense turns scattered data into usable information. As Chalhub states, "You come to GlucoSense because it is easier to live as a diabetic."
With the user's collected data and lifestyle history, GlucoSense's custom-built artificial intelligence predicts how the user's body will react to everything from workouts to carb intake. The app aims to forecast even the most unpredictable days, like the one Fitch experienced in university. With this forecast, diabetics can create a game plan for how to tackle the individual day ahead.
Throughout their journey, GlucoSense has maintained connections with their Georgia Tech origins. In 2023, GlucoSense pitched their product at the CREATE-X Startup Launch Demo Day and received seed investments. Even after CREATE-X, they continue to find the environment of Tech Square beneficial, receiving support from CREATE-X leaders and Georgia Tech professors.
However, their achievement has not been without pushback. According to Fitch and Chalhub, the medical industry can be more challenging to join than other tech spaces, and innovation is slower due to cost and incentives. Despite the adversity, Fitch and Chalhub consider GlucoSense a better product because of the roadblocks they have faced. The duo urges other students and recent grads interested in entering the medical startup space to remain determined, no matter the hardships.
What began as a senior capstone project has quickly evolved into something more significant. The first version of the GlucoSense app launched in July of 2024, and the second in early September. Patients are being enrolled in beta tests for the product this winter and spring. Currently, through a partnership with Pumps On Cue, they are giving away free Fitbits to test users with Type 1 diabetes so they can develop the app further.
GlucoSense plans to commercialize in 2025. The company's ultimate goal is for the app to remain free but have a paid option, allowing users to contact professionals and receive immediate help. With this connection to healthcare professionals, GlucoSense would become a network between patients, providers, insurance, and care. By making diabetics' history and data accessible and aiming to get them to care faster, GlucoSense aspires to ensure that diabetics' lives are easier, decreasing those 180 decisions one innovative step at a time.