Diabetes mellitus is a non-communicable disease caused by a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar levels. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in 2021, Indonesia will be the country with the 2nd highest death rate from diabetes mellitus in the world. Indonesia also ranks 7th with a population of 10.7 million people suffering from diabetes.

Concerned with this phenomenon, three Brawijaya University (UB) students, Fajrul Fallaah Hidayatulloh (FT’21), Felix Wijaya (FT’21), and Diah Rana Hafizhah (FK’21), created innovations to control type 1 diabetes mellitus and diabetes type 2 mellitus in Indonesia.

Under the guidance of Ir. Nurussa’adah, M.T., and dr. Rulli Rosandi, Sp.PD-KEMD team created the GlukoSipp innovation (non-invasive glucometer equipped with an insulin and glucagon pump).

This innovation is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and UB through the Student Creativity Program in the field of Creative Initiatives in 2023. This innovation has also received an IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) certificate issued by DJKI (Directorate General of Intellectual Property).

“Blood sugar checking devices circulating in the community make users uncomfortable because they have to prick the tip of their finger using a lancet to see their blood sugar levels,” said Diah.

According to him, for diabetes which is chronic and cannot be cured, continuous control and monitoring of blood sugar levels is very important to avoid possible complications and worsening that could occur.

The innovation of the PKM Karsa Cipta Team, a collaboration from the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Medical Study Program, is in the form of a bracelet using a PPG sensor using spectroscopic methods.

“This GlukoSipp glucometer has a fairly easy usage procedure. Just by wearing the GlukoSipp glucometer as a bracelet and logging in to the GlukoSipp application, users can monitor their blood sugar levels anytime and anywhere,” said Falah as head of the PKM KC GlukoSipp team.

Not only did they create a non-invasive glucometer, the three students also created an automatic insulin and glucagon hormone pump to facilitate treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus patients.

Although not as much as type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to Felix, the innovation of insulin and glucagon hormone pumps can help the government to tackle the diabetes emergency that is currently in Indonesia.

“I have several insulin pump devices from the US but Indonesia is not yet registered so these devices cannot be used in Indonesia,” said Dr. Rulli Rosandi, Sp.PD-KEMD (15/09/2023).

This increases the enthusiasm of the PKM KC GlukoSipp team to realize their innovation. Moreover, there are currently no insulin pumps in Indonesia and insulin pumps abroad have prices in the range of hundreds of millions.

Apart from the glucometer, there is also an automatic pump system which will inject insulin automatically if a diabetes sufferer’s blood sugar level is above the normal limit (hyperglycemia; blood sugar level >180 mg/dL).

“Diabetics who tend to experience hypoglycemia (blood sugar levels below normal; blood sugar levels <70 mg/dL) will be injected with glucagon,” explained Felix.

This GlukoSipp tool is also equipped with an application that can be downloaded on the user’s smartphone which allows the user to monitor blood sugar levels in real time and history of blood sugar levels displayed in graphical form.

There are also features related to diet and exercise suggestions that are suitable for diabetes sufferers to implement or carry out. Diabetes sufferers can also use the GlukoSipp application to consult with a professional doctor regarding their current condition.

Starting Monday (25/9/2023), GlukoSipp was tested and compared with measurements with invasive glucometers that are commonly circulated in the community. At the beginning of the test there was accuracy with an error below 10%. Until now, the team is still continuing to develop its innovations.

“This tool has great potential for sale, so later GlukoSipp will be scaled down, by changing it with an IC so it is more wearable, and adding AI features to reduce the diabetes emergency in Indonesia,” said Ir. Nurussa’adah, M.T. as the main supervisor of the KC GlukoSipp PKM team.