The Dexcom logo is seen on a smartphone screen and in the background.
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dexcom announced Tuesday an artificial intelligence feature for its Stelo continuous glucose monitor that gives users a personalized view of how meals, sleep and activity affect their glucose levels. It's the first version of a new generative AI platform the company has been building on. Google cloud.
Stelo is an over-the-counter CGM that goes through the skin to measure blood sugar levels in real time. The sensor was launched in August and can be used by any adult who does not take insulin.
The report reflects Dexcom's effort to make Stelo more personalized and attractive to consumers as it works to penetrate a new market.
“The number one response we get is that users want to see more,” Jake Leach, Dexcom's chief operating officer, told CNBC in an interview. “They're making an investment and using the product, and they want to be able to get the most out of all the data they're generating.”
Dexcom is using Google's Gemini models and its Vertex AI platform as the basis for its new AI offering. Vertex AI allows developers to create applications that synthesize different types of data, which can be a major challenge in healthcare.
Leach said Dexcom is also exploring how its generative AI platform can be used in its other CGM products, but the company is proceeding very carefully as patients depend on them to prevent medical emergencies.
“I really felt like Stelo was the right place to do this for the first time,” he said.
An existing insights report was already available to users within the Stelo app, but followed a more standard template format each week. Dexcom believes the AI-generated report will be more valuable to users since it is personalized, Leach said.
If there is a week where a user doesn't move enough after meals, for example, the report would include relevant tips and educational materials to help.
Stelo's AI reports do not provide users with medical advice, although Dexcom has been using an AI framework from the US Food and Drug Administration to help guide development of the feature, Leach said. The FDA approved Stelo in March.
Over time, Dexcom wants to use its generative AI platform to provide real-time feedback to users instead of just weekly reports. The company is also exploring how the technology could act as a predictive indicator of potential problems, much like a car's check engine light.
“It gives you an idea of what might be going on and recommends where you might want to go for more advice,” Chris Sakalosky, vice president of strategic industries at Google Cloud, told CNBC in an interview.
Dexcom's updated weekly report began shipping to Stelo users this week.
