Anisa Jibrell photo
John Fitzpatrick.
The following article was reported through a collaboration between the New Haven Independent and the Multimedia Journalism class at Southern Connecticut State University. The students are profiling small businesses around the New Haven area.
Sixteen months after debuting a glucose monitoring phone app, John Fitzpatrick is now in the process of smoothing out the edges and preparing for a big marketing push.
“We want this to be very, very reliable, and we’re working on making it very rock solid,” said Fitzpatrick. “We have an Android version as well that’s a little bit behind the iPhone version but we’re catching up.”
ShugaTrak is a digital application that allows people with diabetes to monitor their sugar levels by storing the information onto an online database, said Fitzpatrick.
“We’re putting the finishing touches on the app,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick said his company, Applivate, is still in the development phase. As he refines technical aspects of the app, Fitzpatrick is starting to market the product at clinics, health-related events and through non-profits. The app currently caters to five glucose meters through the OneTouch and FreeStyle brands, but Fitzpatrick said the goal is to eventually support all glucose meters.
The app is free to download, but requires a subscription that costs $9.95 per month and $49.95 for the Bluetooth adapter.
How It Works
Users can plug a Bluetooth adapter into the data port on their glucose meters, which permits the adapter to send the glucose readings via text message or email to people who may want to know, Fitzpatrick explained.
“We think it’s particularly useful to the parents of kids who have diabetes so they know when their kids are at school or over a friend’s that their kid is checking their blood sugar,” said Fitzpatrick, “and if the result is in the normal range they can relax but if it’s too high or too low they can reach out and intervene.”
Fitzpatrick works out of a co-operating space based in New Haven, Connecticut called the Grove. It’s a space designed to provide self-starting entrepreneurs with access to things like Wi-Fi, copier and more for a monthly fee, said Fitzpatrick.
“It’s a community so they’ve been very careful to bring people who can collaborate and people with related purposes,” said Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick created the app partly because his wife Sandra has Type 1 diabetes.
Before she downloaded the app, Sandra and Fitzpatrick often talked about her blood sugar levels if one was traveling — just so Fitzpatrick could have peace of mind. Sandra said she likes that with the app, her blood sugar levels doesn’t have to be a topic of conversation.
“That automatic message that is sent to him every time I check my blood sugar can sort of be in the background,” said Sandra. “And people with diabetes like for it to be in the background.”
Sandra said that she is also a fan of the log feature, which allows her to add helpful notes to her glucose readings. She likes being able to print out the readings for her doctor.
“I sometimes use different meters and it’s just nice to have everything stored, that way I have a very straightforward list I can print out for her,” said Sandra.
Fitzpatrick said he has “a few” paying customers already; he declined to specify how many. None have left reviews on Apple Store page where iPhone users can purchase it. Four Android users have given the app an average rating of four stars.
In his new marketing push, Fitzpatrick is looking to reach people who want to stay on top of their blood sugar levels.
Delvin Ramirez, a Waterford resident who attends Southern Connecticut State University, said would find an app like ShugaTrak useful. Ramirez has Type 1 diabetes; he tends to get low blood sugar more frequently because he’s an athlete.
“It’s always good to know the patterns,” said Ramirez. “Any program that helps you to look at the patterns that you’re having is important. We don’t eat the same thing everyday, so our diets could change.”