Gocap — where the health industry and technology come together.

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The Brief

Grasping the Gocap

Created in a Boston company called Common Sensing, Gocap is a smart medical device. Common Sensing works in smart healthcare, using technology to improve people's well-being. That is why they created Gocap – a device that connects to insulin pens to help regulate blood sugar levels in diabetics. It gives its users a variety of features such as tracking insulin doses, keeping a log, monitoring insulin temperature, reminders, and alerts. All this data is collected on Gocap and presented on a user’s mobile phone, via a custom app. With many more options, Gocap’s healthcare technology helps thousands of users daily.

While creating Gocap, Common Sensing’s goal was to connect with two groups – users and health technology companies. To help them do so, we built their Android and iOS app and created a software development kit (SDK). Now, we do check-ups and maintenance to make sure everything runs smoothly. We’re soon to be on Gocap version 2.0 so keep your fingers crossed! 🤞🏾

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The Mobile App

What the Doctor Ordered

Although Gocap can collect and track a lot of information, it is all unavailable to the user without a second device. This is why they needed to create something that will present the data in layman terms. Sooo, without further ado, here are the three its of the Gocap app.

Gocap collects information such as insulin amount, temperature, type, and the time it was injected. The awesome part is that it sends all that data to your phone via Bluetooth Low Energy and presents it in the app.

The app has a neat log where you can see the last time insulin was injected. It’s even sending you notifications and reminders to make sure you stay healthy. You can chart what you eat and enter glucose readings throughout the day.

Gocap makes it easier for the people in your life to be involved in your health. Send all the info to your doctor, family, or friends to help them keep you safe.

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Bluetooth & The SDK

Running some tests

Common Sensing wanted to offer Gocap to other health technology companies and enable its integration to different devices and software. So, we suggested building a software development kit or SDK for short. The SDK allowed other companies to explore how Gocap would collect and deliver information when placed on their smart devices. Finally, Common Sensing could switch from only showcasing Gocap to letting their clients experience it on their own. As we said, the data Gocap collects is sent to any device via Bluetooth. As anyone who’s worked with Bluetooth Low Energy will tell you, the technology can be tricky. Mainly because its connection tends to be a bit unstable. But, even if you manage to work around that, Bluetooths leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

Although there are many official documents helping developers work with Bluetooth, they poorly explain and even omit some important details. So, we had to dig deep around the net and explore the answers to complicated questions ourselves. There were a few more challenges to tackle there. Establishing a good architecture for the SDK, creating the SDK MVP (lots of abbreviations, we know), and building the firmware and SDK at the same time. The last one meant exterminating a lot of bugs. Still, we made it happen. 🎉

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Takeaway

Sense and stability

Not to brag, but we think we made two very cool and quite complex things work. Firstly, it makes us happy knowing we managed to raise Bluetooth low energy to a higher level. We made it as stable as it can be, considering it’s a shaky technology in itself.

Secondly, we managed to handle the SDK architecture well. The SDK can now be put to new use in future projects, with minimal modifications. We created something that works for the clients and users, without complicating their life. And we’re proud of that.

The developers at Ars Futura are excellent. I’d worked with them before and came back wanting to work with them again, which really speaks to the quality of their work. They’re great communicators and overall pleasant people.

Emily Hart

Director of Software Engineering @ Common Sensing

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