Автор: БУХАНДА АРАНЧА | BUJANDA ARANTXA
The introductory part:
Dear reader,
Let me take you to a future that can only exist within the framework of science fiction, and may even become reality. I invite you to explore SmartHealth with me, a city that was born in one of Emily's dreams. She has lived with type 1 diabetes since childhood and has seen exponential progress in its treatment. The reflections of her beloved granddaughter, Noi, led her to an even brighter horizon of reflection. Why does everyone experience their condition in their own way? Why does inequality in access to treatment persist?
Accompany Emily on her journey through this medical utopia, where the collective stands above the individual, and where society adapts to individual conditions. Together we will learn how the burden of disease becomes a chapter in the annals of medicine.
In these pages, I have tried to combine science and fantasy to give you a unique idea of what our world might be like in the future. Since I graduated as a nurse, I have focused my research on diabetes, a disease in which technology has come to the forefront of treatment methods. This has led to the creation of systems that inject or stop insulin infusion based on glucose measured using a sensor. However, the burden on patients remains significant and varies depending on the individual. In many cases, this is due to individual factors, but in many others it is due to the general context. For this reason, these lines try to illustrate the need to adapt the environment to humans, and not the other way around.
I hope this story inspires you to see a future in which technology and humanity come together to create a more just and hopeful world.
Emily, who has suffered from type 1 diabetes since childhood, has witnessed incredible success in treating her disease throughout her life. She remembers how, as a child, her mother boiled syringes so that she could inject insulin. But she also does not forget about the general glucose meter, which was distributed to the neighbors, coming home once every seven days. Only one glucose measurement per week! Unsurprisingly, her parents cried a lot after the diagnosis, and her life has changed since then.
Over time, medicine developed, and Emily witnessed how glucose meters became more and more accurate, insulin was ready to be administered, and people with diabetes could do whatever they wanted. You no longer need to prick your fingers to measure your blood sugar, a small device attached to your skin does it. It provides you with real-time readings every 5 minutes. Her granddaughter always asks her the same question: "Grandma, will you ever become a robot?" Little Noah witnessed how her grandmother wore more and more technological devices on her body. "No, dear, first they put me on a glucose meter, which is such a button, and then on this device, smaller than a cell phone, which injects the insulin I need. They both communicate, this system is called an artificial pancreas because it does the same thing as yours and works perfectly. I don't think I need anything else," Emily explained calmly. Noah didn't run out of questions: "Grandma, you're still weighing everything you eat, and you still have sugar ups and downs. I've seen you get up at night to drink juice! More progress is needed. Besides, there are people who are still afraid to do something when they have diabetes, look at John..."
That evening, her granddaughter's words echoed in Emily's head. The truth is, deep down, she felt that there was still a lot to improve. In her life, she met many people with diabetes, and each of them experienced their illness in their own way. Isn't diabetes the same for everyone? There are too many factors influencing the experience. In addition, society was not prepared on a global scale, Emily hated the injustice of a system where treatment did not reach everyone equally, and various laboratories and companies fought for their interests. After these reflections, she managed to fall asleep, but after a few minutes, "low glucose" alarms began to sound on her glucose meter. Instead of waking up, she finally fell into a deep sleep, where the warnings turned into car horns moving in the futuristic glow of 2100.
The metropolis of SmartHealth stood in front of her as a technological jewel in the midst of the urban landscape, its avenues were full of people who moved with extraordinary grace and vitality, at the mercy of revolutionary innovations in the field of technology.
Exploring the city, she discovered a world in which technology and biology dance in perfect harmony. All the services were perfect for all people. SmartHealth was not just a city of medical breakthroughs. It was a community united by hope and a desire to overcome the barriers imposed by chronic diseases. The stories of chronically ill people were not only not considered limiting, but also inspired everyone to follow their dreams, no matter what difficulties life presented them. This city was a symbol of what humanity can achieve by uniting to achieve a common goal. There she realized that there is a place for social innovation, and scientists no longer focus on innovative individual treatment methods, but work for the whole of humanity.
In her dream, Emily entered one of the hospitals, where each health worker was accompanied by an android. At that moment, she was able to relive her diagnosis 150 years later, which had nothing to do with what she actually went through. Diabetes was just a shadow of the past. "If you're curious, I'll tell you everything you want to know, little by little, but for now it's enough to tell your microimplant that you have diabetes." It is completely autonomous and the city is adapted for this. This tiny device constantly monitors glucose levels and regulates the release of insulin according to needs.
"Come here and look out the window," the doctor said, seeing the concern on Emily's face. "That girl has celiac disease, everything is served gluten-free in restaurants, and she doesn't need to talk about it publicly. No one needs to know if she doesn't want to. The one in the corner is deaf, all sounds turn into text after it. In your case, the device will know what food you are going to eat when it is on your plate, and restaurants will offer a personalized menu designed to maintain glucose balance. In addition, the parks are full of active people, they know what kind of work they can do to feel healthy and fulfilled."
"We all have a little keeper,— Emily said with a smile. This allows us to enjoy life without worries.
Diabetes, which was once a heavy burden, has become a chapter in the annals of medicine.
The final part:
As we come to the end of this journey through SmartHealth and the wonders the year 2100 has in store for us, I want to share some additional thoughts.
First of all, this work aims not to predict the future, but to sow a grain of opportunity in the minds of every reader. This reminds us that progress is not a straight line, but a journey full of unexpected twists. Barriers that seem insurmountable today can disappear over time and with collective dedication. Medical and social innovations can shape a tomorrow in which quality of life is accessible to everyone, no matter what conditions we face.
Ultimately, this work seeks to initiate a dialogue about the role of science fiction as a tool for exploring a plausible future and questioning the boundaries of the possible. It invites us to imagine and challenge, to dream of a tomorrow in which science and humanity will unite to create a better world.
As for the scientific content of the work, there are articles explaining diabetes research in the future, the emergence of "smart cities" and technologies currently used in the treatment of diabetes. The devices that appear in the text are a continuous glucose meter or glucose sensor, which continuously measures glucose through an incandescent filament, and a continuous insulin infusion system, which is a device that delivers insulin. When they interact with each other, it is known as an artificial pancreas or a closed circuit system.