I’m Joshua, a student, and I’m excited (and a little nervous) to share something deeply personal that I’ve been working on: Islet, my diabetes management app powered by GPT-4o-mini. It’s now on the App Store, but I want to be upfront—it’s still very much in its early stages, with a lot more to go.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes while rowing competitively, and that moment changed everything. It wasn’t just the practical challenges of managing insulin, carb counts, and blood sugars; it fundamentally shifted how I see myself and the world. It forced me to slow down, prioritise my health, and take control in ways I never had to before. My outlook on life became more focused on resilience, adaptability, and finding solutions to problems that truly matter.
This app started as a pet project over the summer, a way to see what I could create using ChatGPT and explore the potential of LLMs to help with real-world challenges. At first, it was just about making my own diabetes management easier—understanding patterns in blood sugars, planning meals, and adjusting routines. But as I worked on it, I realised it could do more.
Right now, Islet offers personalised meal suggestions, tracks activity, and provides basic insights based on the data you enter. It’s far from complete. Even so, the process of building Islet has already taught me so much about how powerful AI can be in creating personal, meaningful tools.
This project is deeply tied to how my diagnosis changed me. It’s about more than managing diabetes, it’s about showing how anyone, even a student experimenting over the summer, can use AI to potentially solve real, personal problems. I believe tools like LLMs have the power to democratise solutions for all, making life just a bit easier for all of us.
If you’re curious, you can check it out here: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/islet-diabetes/id6453168642. I’d love to hear your thoughts what works, what doesn’t, and what features you think would make it better. Your input could help shape the next steps for Islet.
Thanks for reading !
joshua
I am not sure how ChatGPT can give any advice (if it is even given in the app) about insulin or glucose.
The Islet app is designed as a knowledge base that logs crucial data, including insulin dosages, meals, and physical activities. It aims to provide users with insights into how these factors interact to impact their blood sugar levels. Here's a breakdown of how ChatGPT integrates into the app and what data is involved:
What kind of data powers ChatGPT in Islet?
The ChatGPT component in Islet acts as a translation and query layer rather than the sole knowledge source. Islet’s knowledge base aggregates and organises the user’s logged data, such as:
- Glucose Levels: Derived from CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) data. This Data is currently on a 3hr delay in the app.
- Insulin Dosages: Logged by the user to capture the timing, type, and amount of insulin administered.
- Meals: Users can log meals in detail, including macronutrient composition, portion sizes, and timing.
- Activities: Logs include exercise type, intensity, and duration, as physical activity significantly impacts glucose regulation.
Does ChatGPT provide advice?
While the app itself does not directly provide medical advice, the ChatGPT integration facilitates better use of the logged data by enabling the user to ask targeted questions. For example:
- "How has my blood sugar been affected by pasta meals over the past two weeks?"
- "What impact does my 30-minute cycling routine typically have on my glucose levels?"
- "Are there patterns between my evening meals and morning glucose levels?"
Purpose of the App
The primary purpose of Islet is to empower users with a system that captures and organises their diabetes-related data into a knowledge base. The ChatGPT layer makes querying this knowledge base intuitive by translating user questions into actionable insights, offering:
1. Pattern Analysis: It helps users understand trends by analysing recurring meals and activities regimens and their effects on blood sugar levels.
2. Education: Users gain a better understanding of their unique responses to different scenarios, supporting informed decisions in their diabetes management.
By focusing on personalised, data-driven insights rather than generic advice, Islet ensures that the ChatGPT integration remains a helpful tool for exploring user-specific trends.