3rd edition of the mHealth Grand Tour

  • The 2015 mHealth Grand Tour will take place between 3 and 12 September and will be open to cyclists with Type 1 and 2 diabetes.
  • 2015 mHealth Grand Tour partners will put in place innovative telemonitoring and medical coaching services to accompany riders throughout the course. Data gathered during the 10-day ride will be analysed as part of a medico-scientific observational study.
  • Diabetes is an international pandemic: according to the International Diabetes Federation, nearly 592 million people worldwide are expected to have diabetes by 2035.

The mHealth Grand Tour, a ride like no other

The 2015 mHealth Grand Tour is the 3rd edition of this ride like no other, opened to athletes and patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes.

This year, the Tour will take place between 3 and 12 September, from Brussels to Geneva via Paris, representing around 1,500 km of cycling, much of which through bucolic European countrysides

This remarkable ride is a veritable physical and endurance challenge for people with type 1 and 2 diabetes. The Tour is aimed at promoting physical activity and highlighting the benefits of remote monitoring and medical coaching of diabetic patients as part of a personalised support programme.

A host of partners to focus on the issue of diabetes

The riders will be monitored remotely in real time and will have the advantage of personalised coaching via their mobile devices to help them manage their condition throughout the ride. They will also be followed by a team of medical professionals who will provide expert advice based on the riders’ data gathered in real-time during the ride. Following the Tour, the riders’ data will be processed and analysed as part of a medico-scientific observational study that will be conducted by Orange in association with the SFD (Société Francophone du Diabète). The study, which will evaluate the impact of using information and communication technology by diabetics, will be published in the months following the Tour.

Through the involvement of all the partners, the Tour’s riders with diabetes will have access to a range of innovative telemonitoring and medical coaching services throughout the race:

  • Orange Healthcare, as main sponsor, will provide the secure collection, transmission and hosting (in Orange cloud) of riders’ data.  These services will enable all data to be shared securely with the medical team. Orange Healthcare will also supply each rider with an application that will aggregate riders’ personal data collected from their various connected devices.
  • Samsung will give riders the use of all their latest technical innovations so that they can access the mobile medical coaching apps.
  • Intel will provide Basic Peak, which will enable the riders to monitor their physical condition and adjust their effort according to their fitness levels.
  • TAPcheck® will supply the riders with connected scales, blood pressure meters and glucose monitors.

Other key players from the healthcare ecosystem will also be involved in the diabetic riders’ support programme. Riders will have the benefit of a Dexcom® Continuous Glucose Monitor. Continua’s interoperability Design Guidelines will enable the secure and seamless transmission of health data between wearable sensors, mobile devices and an Electronic Health Record (EHR) platform to capture rider data.

In addition, riders will also be provided with the latest innovations from two start-ups:

  • Tellspec will enable the athletes to scan their food at a molecular level, so they can monitor the total intake of calories and carbohydrates per meal, per day and per week, and adjust the quantity of insulin required for each injection.
  • MedWhat will provide smarter personalised diabetic medical advice through their cognitive and artificial intelligence technology.

For the second time, the Tour will also see the participation of an official team of employees from Etisalat Group. Riders from the 19 countries where the telecommunications company operates in will join the international effort to help raise awareness about diabetes and promote technological advancements in the field of mHealth.

The mHealth Grand Tour 2015 is also being supported by:

  • the GSMA Connected Living programme, which will demonstrate the power of mobile-enabled healthcare in enabling individuals to manage their own conditions
  • the Association Française des Diabétiques: The main missions of the AFD's national federation (96 associations) are to inform, support and defend those affected by diabetes.
  • the International Diabetes Federation Europe
  • type 1 diabetes charity JDRF

Diabetes: an international pandemic
Diabetes is a disorder that affects the assimilation, use and storage by the body of the sugars found in food. In 2014, there were 387 million people living with diabetes, or 8.3% of the global population[1]. It is becoming increasingly prevalent, making it a genuine pandemic. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that there will be nearly 592 million people with diabetes worldwide by 2035.

While type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition most often diagnosed in young people, type 2 diabetes is often linked to excessive weight, obesity, a lack of physical exercise and a sedentary lifestyle.

Regardless of the type of diabetes, regular physical activity and a balanced diet are therefore key to managing it. These lifestyle and dietary habits are not always easy to maintain in the long term.



[1] source: International Diabetes Federation