Insulin Patch
A visionary project conceptualized during a Design Thinking competition with an aim to develop an efficient and cost effective method to inject insulin for treatment of Diabetes.
THE PROBLEM
Insulin Pump is an electronic device used by diabetics for autonomous delivery of insulin. However, this device is larger in size, difficult to carry around and is costly. Of millions of diabetics across the world, only 5% use this rather convenient device. It’s important that this device be re-engineered and re-designed to help diabetics; rich or poor, young or old, to be able to use this without hesitation. As an outcome of its bulky size and poor design aesthetics, the user’s routine is affected and so is his/her morale. Women find it even tougher to carry this device, as it effects their lifestyle directly by restricting them from common daily chores and their clothing options are also limited to the ones which keep this bulky device hidden under the hood. Not to forget that these instruments are extremely costly, difficult to maintain and take a toll on a person’s psychology.
Keeping these in mind, we have designed a new insulin delivery system, which is derived out of the benefits of both Insulin Pump and Insulin Pen. The Insulin patch is an integration of hardware and software, wherein a patch-like device will be stuck to the body to deliver insulin. The delivery of insulin will be controlled by the user through an app interface. The hardware device(patch) is not only capable of storing and delivering insulin but can also check your blood sugar level in real-time and will generate reports out of it. Moreover, these reports are synced with the doctor’s database to give the user an enhanced experience in health care at an affordable cost. The device is inconspicuous, light-weighted with a user empathetic design at an affordable cost. We intend to give our users a fruitful experience and help them move towards a sweeter future.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Wearable Device – The Patch
This is the device which houses the sensors for testing the blood for sugar levels and to deliver insulin to the body. Upon receiving instructions from the app, this device dispenses the required amount of insulin to the body. Blood test reports are updated to the app every time the user requests for it. This device is small, inconspicuous, aesthetically designed and is affordable. It can store upto 2.5 mL of insulin (while 3 mL being the capacity of Insulin Pen) and can work for 10 – 15 days (depends on dosage prescribed by the doctor to the user) before having to re-fill it.
Companion – Mobile Application
Companion is the mobile app which enables the user to trigger insulin as per the dosage, before or after the meal. The mobile app helps the user by reminding them to take food on time and to exercise according to the schedule set by user. The app also shows the real-time blood sugar level in the body and the user can generate reports on daily basis. These reports will automatically get synced to the doctor’s database. The user can also notify the doctor or trusted contacts if they experience hypoglycaemia. If the insulin in the wearable device reaches the crux point, the users get a notification through the app well in advance. As a future update, the user can access various diet charts and can watch various videos on exercises for diabetics.
FUTURE SCOPE
Once we develop a basic model of our device we will improve its features as we intend the provide our users with the best experience. To do so, we will roll out updates such as:
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Introduce AI to the app to assist users and suggesting actions on basis on blood sugar levels.
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Reduce the form factor of the wearable device and improve the aesthetics of it.
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The device will be implemented with machine learning algorithms to study the life-pattern of the user to generate suitable diet plans and exercise.
Design Thinking Process
From writing the Problem Statement to conceptualizing the product, I went through the full process of Design Thinking and learned how to apply it to solve problems systematically. Undeniably, developing ideas with a user-centric approach has helped me come up efficient and innovative solutions.
Skills Learnt/Improved
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Design Thinking Process
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User Empathy
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Teamwork
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Prototyping
Meet the Team
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Tejas S Shah
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K Navya
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Rishita Datla
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Ibadulla Baig
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Hemanth Krishna
THESE WERE SOME MAJOR LEARNINGS OR POINTS I WANTED TO CALL OUT
Further, you can add a brief insight into the design thinking process which led to the conceptualization of Insulin Patch by swiping through the gallery below.