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Our client is a San Diego-based biomedical company developing and marketing a continuous glucose monitoring app (CGM) for ambulatory use by people with diabetes. Instead of a finger prick several times a day, the company has developed a simple one-touch auto-applicator that sends data wirelessly to a mobile CGM app to monitor blood sugar levels efficiently. The initiative required us to become agile and remain bulletproof in mobile testing quickly, utilize our Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance expertise, and be fluent in the realm of wearable technology. |
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Drawing upon years of experience in engineering, agile, and scrum methodologies, we delivered to the client a best-in-class solution that enables patients, caregivers, and clinicians alike to take control of diabetes once and for all. |
![]() ServicesMobile Application Development, Mobile Application Testing, FDA Compliance, Solution Architecture, Hardware Testing ![]() TechnologiesSwift, Kotlin ![]() Project LocationsSan Diego, CA, US | Cairo, Egypt ![]() IndustryLife Sciences, Biotech, Medical Device ![]() Size10,000+ employees ![]() Customer Since2019 |
Those living with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes must continually monitor their blood sugar to avoid the potentially dangerous consequences of hyperglycemia (too-high blood sugar) and hypoglycemia (too-low blood sugar). Building an FDA-compliant mobile application/CGM software for a wearable sensor that helps diabetes patients avoid fingersticks required us to overcome and navigate several complex business and technical challenges.
Historically, Integrant has been known for its .NET full-stack expertise, which meant we had an uphill climb to prove our healthcare mobile app development expertise and ultimately demonstrate the caliber of our engineers along with our problem-solving and grit. This meant we had to quickly pivot and apply our engineering and agile best practices to onboarding the right team of mobile development experts who would initially help us build an app for wearable health monitoring devices. While also understanding and interpreting the client's unique requirements.
The project's technical components were particularly complex since we had to develop the native mobile architecture and coordinate how the various sub-modules would communicate with this sublayer. Previously, the client used a CGM software framework that required uniform communication with all the different submodules. One of our tasks was creating a layer within the architecture that would talk to the various submodules and act as a bridge to the client applications. This new architecture also required full integration with cloud service and authentication, built from scratch.
The most critical challenge was to gain the client's trust immediately. We had to complete many vital actions in parallel to instill confidence in our ability to deliver a client-ready continuous glucose monitoring app on time. First, we had to hire a new mobile development team, which required extensive interviews and onboarding. This process was challenging during the pandemic since hiring and onboarding had to be done remotely without the option to meet the client onsite and interact with them directly.
The second major challenge is that we had to understand the complex code base properly to make recommendations, perform test cases, and optimize as much of the base as possible. It was also imperative that we communicated frequently and aligned closely with the client's development team. This initiative was a collaborative effort, so we had to ensure we could fit in seamlessly and work efficiently within their culture.
It's noteworthy to mention that our healthcare mobile app development work required the integration of a scrum master who would help us achieve our project goals and benchmarks. This additional resource would endear us to the client's team and ensure a smooth working relationship and strong project oversight each step of the way.
Since we were working on a medical application, it had to meet rigorous FDA approval to be among the FDA approved mobile apps out there. This meant we were expected to provide high levels of testing to ensure the mobile CGM software meets complete standards for the consumer market.
The FDA has identified a set of published standards for manufactured medical devices. Our testing processes had to align closely with these standards, which is another way of saying that all security and data integration had to be flawless. These steps were all critical to winning the complete trust of our client. (You can read more about our high-level best practices to FDA approval here.)
We began this engagement in a modest capacity by taking tickets, analyzing code, and then offering feedback. However, the client soon realized we brought a high degree of technical expertise and quickly finished tasks. This served us well and resulted in getting assigned to more tasks.
It wasn’t long before we migrated from one small project to three major projects, each with an iOS and Android team. The client has come to value our work as a second set of hands and a highly regarded, very quick, and versatile consultancy. We’re already collaborating on the next release of the Continuous Glucose Monitoring app system.
Below are some major solutions and characteristics that helped us deliver outstanding value to our client.
As with our client engagements over the past three decades, the core value we brought to the table this time was an attitude of rapid trust building. We demonstrated this by taking on each task with a high degree of ownership and expertise and a continual forward-looking approach to architecture, security, testing, and more.
This meant no difficulty was ever overlooked, nor was there a moment’s hesitation to go the second mile to understand our client’s business fully. We strove for continuous improvement by seeking ways to make each process more efficient and cost-effective for our client.
One way in which we set ourselves apart was by hiring and onboarding the healthcare mobile app development team. This involved searching for the most qualified developer candidates, interviewing and hiring the best matches, and providing gap analyses and feedback to ensure everyone was aligned entirely with the client’s requirements and expectations. All of this happened remotely due to the impacts of the global health pandemic.
Our client wanted us to develop a complex architecture that would communicate real-time patient blood sugar updated readings to a mobile CGM app. This required us to develop a robust, FDA-approved architecture that could scale easily and communicate effectively with the client’s various internal and external applications. Through this rigorous process of development and testing, we accomplished:
1- How to level-up our new architecture?
2- The best way to “ship” our architecture to customers
To ensure full FDA compliance with our client’s medical continuous glucose monitoring app, we had to strive to ensure every function in the system allows only authorized people to access the data they need. This, in turn, required a considerable amount of security testing – especially important for medical apps where the security testing of mobile apps and correct application functioning can be a life and death matter.
Our team worked carefully and efficiently to ensure the highest levels of trust and transparency as we abstracted the code base and went through our QA processes. By designing various security tests, we continually explored ways to automate more components, write better code, and reduce redundancies within the architecture.
When first approached by a reputable San Diego biomedical company to take on a project, we jumped at the opportunity to make a difference. After investing in a rigorous process of trust-building and technical deep dives, we soon developed a great partnership, showcasing our technical expertise and problem-solving ability. One project quickly grew to three, and these projects have stretched us in new directions by introducing us to the complexities of mobile architectures integrated with cloud-based systems.
Our next challenge? Figuring out how to further leverage the architecture we’ve built, continue improving our processes, and level up our solutions to create the most accurate and impactful CGM software and products to serve our customer and the end-user. Thanks to our partnership with the client, we’re now making a direct impact on improving the lives of diabetes patients around the world.
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