## 3 Challenges to be Overcome in an ICT--Based Diabetes Management System
In any case, the diversity of communication channels, including WiFi, ZigBee, 6 LowPAN, and BLE, offers several options that need to be studied and specified. Smartphones, at this moment, present a level of adaptability that is difficult to reach for any other device, due to their versatility, growing power, connectivity, and mobility options. They allow for us to make the software responsible for modeling the dynamics of the system, performing glucose prediction, optimizing the solution and controlling the process, and also managing information between CGM devices and an insulin pump, thanks to the possibilities of their connectivity [44]. Other features are also interesting, like forward emergency calls in case of risk to the patient providing the location, via GPS [45], or actualize its software when required. However, there are some doubts about the approval of smartphones as medical devices (class III, high risk). The controller application installed in the phone has to be reliable enough, avoiding opposition with other applications running in the device. Other circumstances, such as an eventual discharge of battery or a loss of connectivity, must be prevented. These pros and cons are properly discussed in [46]. Groundbreaking advances in electronics have introduced miniaturization and more powerful innovations in biometrics, the field in which measurable biological characteristics are studied. Nowadays, it is possible to measure certain variables, most of them vital signs, in a continuous mode, such as heart rate, exercise, and others. All of these measurements take part in the complex blood glucose balance and must be taken into account. Some years ago, it was difficult to obtain a compilation of data for a full day, but nowadays, different devices like smartbands, smartwatches, and other fitness and medical wearables make this objective easy, offering a lot of useful information [47]. These disruptive innovations have potential in the field of healthcare and have been studied recently. Nonetheless, restrictions due to size, battery length, and the fact that these devices are sometimes conceived for other use than that by healthcare professionals casts some doubts about their accuracy [48]. In such work, their usefulness in DM1 management is one of the ideas, which is discussed. Modeling techniques based on artificial intelligence methods open the possibility of predicting glycaemia and thus anticipating actuation and trying to follow the different steps of the so-called Kowalski path [49], which describes the stages that are to be followed in order to obtain an artificial pancreas. Unfortunately, such methods have not been studied under the preceding considerations. In this sense, the fields of work that have been opened are immense and promising. Implementing a predictive model in order to forecast the evolution of the patient is something highly desirable. It could anticipate risky situations or even provide a decision support. Unluckily, the development and validation of models using Machine Learning techniques requires the collection of clinical data, which should be preferably carried out at different centers to ensure that the models are well-calibratedto different populations of patients. Going further, the model needs to be auto-adaptable to changes in the health and routine of the patient, avoiding wrong predictions, and, consequently, undesirable situations. Anyway, an initial stage of development of an ICT-based platform would help in the data collection and the testing stage, even allowing a test environment where patients would be under observation, minimizing the risks. Finally, after reviewing the existing telemedicine platforms proposals, a scheme able to deal with novel ICT advances, while at the same time, exploiting all of their possibilities is lacking. For instance, some of the existing platforms connect patients and medical staff, but do not offer an optimized solution, do not take into account a suboptimal features set, or do not consider the ability to manage emergency situations.