Not only do people with type 2 diabetes have to struggle with the condition; they often struggle with taking their medication, too. The result is that many people get the wrong treatment. But Nynne Holdt-Caspersen intends to change this situation. She aims to develop a decision-support system to help patients, providing them with personal guidance and reminders of their medication dosage.

Nynne Holdt-Caspersen has just received a grant of DKK 550,000 from the Danish Diabetes Academy with co-financing from Novo Nordisk A/S for a PhD aimed at developing this decision-support system.

Nynne Holdt-Caspersen is basing her work on new, edible diabetes medications: for example, oral semaglutide, which has had positive results in terms of blood sugar regulation and the reduction of risk factors such as blood pressure and weight. “But we need more. Particularly because dosage instructions can be relatively complex, and because it is difficult to calculate the required dosage,” she says.

The new decision-support system will help by including information about activity during the day, continuously collected using sensors, and the patient’s blood sugar levels.

“This information can be used to generate a profile of the patient, thereby making it possible to automate patient guidance,” says Nynne Holdt-Caspersen.

Measurements, diary and questionnaire data
Currently, no clinical trials have been conducted, in which blood sugar levels are continuously monitored in patients receiving oral semaglutide (GLP-1 antidiabetic). For this reason, the work will start with a three-month pilot study, which will incorporate continuous measurements of blood sugar and activity, and diary and questionnaire data. A total of 20 subjects will be included.

All the data collected will be analysed using artificial intelligence and parameter analysis to identify parameters considered to be relevant to the supporting diabetes treatment.

The results of the data analysis will be used for the development of the decision-support system, which will be evaluated for its ability to guide the patient in administering doses of the oral diabetes medication, and to discover whether it contributes to optimised treatment. The system will then be examined in the context of a control group to determine its efficacy in a clinical trial involving 150 subjects.

Work to take place in Aalborg and at the University of Pavia
Nynne Holdt-Caspersen has received her grant from a fund that supports young researchers, who are simultaneously supported by the life science industry. In this case, Novo Nordisk is covering 2/3 of the costs from its special STAR pool - STAR stands for Science Talent Attraction and Recruitment.

Most of the work for her PhD will take place in Aalborg – at the university, Steno Diabetes Center North and Novo Nordisk’s Aalborg branch with approximately 50 staff, mainly biostatisticians. She will spend the remaining time at the University of Pavia in Italy, in a research group led by Professor Riccardo Bellazzi, head of the university’s Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering.

Contact
Nynne Holdt-Caspersen
E-mail: Nynne@holdt-caspersen.dk
Tel: +45 61 65 92 60
Linkedin.com/in/nynne-holdt-caspersen-03ba10a3

Danish Diabetes Academy
Managing Director Tore Christiansen
E-mail: tore.christiansen@rsyd.dk
Tel: +45 29 64 67 64