Pharmaceutical giant Bayer is working on a new glucose reader peripheral for the Nintendo DS which will encourage children to regularly test their blood glucose and, hopefully, to take better care of them.
The Didget will plug into Nintendo DS or DS Lite handhelds and works in conjunction with two games, Knock ‘Em Downs: World’s Fair and Mini Game Arcade, to encourage kids to test their blood glucose regularly. The unit supports two testing modes, basic and advanced, and “consistent” testing is rewarded with points that can be used to unlock levels and buy items within the games.
The device was developed in conjunction with Paul Wessel, the founder of Guidance Interactive Healthcare and creator of the Glucoboy, a blood glucose meter for the Nintendo Game Boy. Wessel noticed that while his son was always losing his blood glucose meter, he never had that problem with his DS and thus struck the inspiration for the Didget.
The Didget fits into the Slot-2 connector on the DS and DS Lite, which unfortunately means it won’t be compatible with the newer Nintendo DSi. Pricing is currently set at £29.99 (around $50) in the U.K., which include a £5 donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; pricing in the U.S. hasn’t been set because the Didget isn’t available here just yet. Check out bayerdidget.com for more information.
via: GamesIndustry
Published: Jul 6, 2009 04:17 pm