What to know about voice technology for diabetes management

"Alexa, change my insulin pump site."

"Siri, bring me 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates."

"Hey Google, find a cure for type 1 diabetes!"

Those phrases may sound like wishful thinking (and they are), but using voice recognition technology for diabetes management is a reality — and getting more advanced every day. Diabetes-specific apps and skills have changed the smart-home landscape, and now offer those of us who live with diabetes (or care for someone with diabetes) a welcomed break from some of the more mundane management tasks.

Here's what to know about the available options, as well as an overview around using smart technology to help manage diabetes.

Find what resources work best for you

Living with type 1 diabetes (t1d) can sometimes be challenging, but using your resources for support — even a virtual assistant — should never feel like a weakness! Integrating voice recognition technology into your diabetes management toolbox is great for families new to diabetes or those of us who have been at it a while and could use gentle reminders.

It may sound trivial, but I appreciate the unbiased, nonjudgmental quality of voice recognition technology. I find I listen and respond better to tips and trends when the voice doesn't have a tone of, "You could do better."

The most important thing to remember as a person living with or caring for someone with diabetes is to use your resources. You don't have to navigate this condition alone! Here are a few apps to check out:

• Sulli the Diabetes Guru: Sulli is a fun virtual assistant available on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The app is great at answering basic questions about diabetes terms, setting reminders, and helping you locate a store for diabetes supplies.
  
• Sugarmate: Sugarmate is an app compatible with many devices, from phones to smart speakers. Diabetes data, including blood sugar readings from your continuous glucose monitor (CGM), is synced across all your platforms — so you can go from seeing your blood sugar trends on an Apple watch to asking Alexa for an audio readout to seeing a digital display in Apple CarPlay. The app even has a fun "Unicorn" feature for counting all those times you hit 100 milligrams per deciliter, which helps keep the tedium of diabetes management a bit lighter.
• One Drop: One Drop is available on iOS devices. While great for hearing blood sugar readings, its main power (in my opinion) comes from the ease of logging food simply via voice command through Siri. Since nutrition and carbohydrate counting is such a huge part of living with t1d, being able to log food with just your voice is a nice addition to the technology for diabetes management.

Think outside the box when using the technology

Aside from the diabetes-specific skills mentioned previously, you can feel free to ask your smart speaker or phone assistant for diabetes help through a few generic skills. Here are five creative ways you can push some diabetes management responsibility over to Alexa, Google, or Siri:

1. Set reminders for checking your blood sugar. You can even name the alarm something like "blood sugar check" or use a specific tone for diabetes reminders.
2. Set a reminder to start a decreased temporary basal rate an hour before your typical workout time.
3. Ask for carbohydrate counts if you can't find the container (I do this often).
4. Set regular reminders to reorder supplies or make appointments. Smart technology can help you keep a running diabetes task to-do list.
   
5. If diabetes burnout is increasing your stress levels, ask your smart speaker to guide you through a few minutes of meditation.

Personally, I'm thrilled to have a set of helping hands when it comes to diabetes management — even if those helping hands are a fake person living inside my phone or an inanimate speaker sitting on my counter. I still depend on myself to keep my management on track, but having this technology as a backup can provide valuable peace of mind. I'm excited to see how diabetes technology companies integrate even more virtual assistant skills into these devices in the future.

Looking to learn more about diabetes apps for your phone? Check out other articles on Health Insights to read about the apps that can assist with daily diabetes management.