by Michael Woodhead  

The power of the Nintendo Gameboy is being harnessed to encourage children with diabetes to test their blood glucose on a regular basis.  

Diagnostic company Bayer has created an plug-in gizmo called the Didget that allows children to earn reward points and open up new game levels on Nintendo games if they test themselves consistently.  

The device rewards children with bonus game points if they if they hit their target number of tests per day as well as achieving the minimum time between tests. It also gives rewards when the user gets blood glucose test results within their personalised target range.  

Children can use the points to purchase items in the games, unlock mini-games and to take part in a web community set up by Bayer.  

The device, which is currently only available in the UK and the US, is based on Bayer’s existing Contour system, and plugs into the Slot-2 of the Nintendo DS and DS Lite consoles.  

The Didget was developed in conjunction with the parent of a child with type 1 diabetes, who noticed that although his son Luke was constantly losing his blood glucose meter, he could always find his Nintendo Game Boy. It is expected to cost about $60.