Long before mainstream CGM follower apps existed, a group of parents, caregivers, and developers built their own tools to remotely monitor blood sugar. That’s the story behind Nightscout, and in my conversation with James Wedding, founder of the Nightscout Foundation, we traced how that grassroots effort transformed diabetes tech—and continues to influence innovation today.
Nightscout began in 2013 when parents of a child with type 1 diabetes realized that existing CGM systems didn’t allow remote viewing. John Costik, a software engineer and father, developed a way to upload CGM data to the cloud so he could view his child’s glucose levels from a distance. Over time, this “CGM in the Cloud” concept grew—led by Lane Desborough and others—and evolved into the open-source Nightscout Project.
What makes Nightscout so powerful isn’t just technology, but community. From simple lines and alerts to full dashboards on phones, web, and smartwatches, Nightscout users contributed features long before large device makers caught up. It was a pioneer in remote monitoring, caregiver alerts, and interoperability.
Of course, this early innovation came with challenges. Because Nightscout wasn’t FDA-regulated, questions about reliability, safety, and liability have always been present. The Nightscout leadership has engaged in dialogue with the FDA about how open-source tools could be responsibly embraced.
Today, Nightscout operates through the Nightscout Foundation, which supports development, advocacy, and community growth. The Foundation helps ensure this legacy continues, even as commercial systems adopt features Nightscout pioneered.
If you want to understand how the #WeAreNotWaiting movement put users in the driver’s seat—and how a small community shaped modern diabetes monitoring—check out my full interview with James Wedding. Watch the YouTube episode below, or listen to the podcast above.
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