Idea's for Better Diabetic Products

[DiabeticDesign]

Hi, I am a Type 1 Diabetic,studying Design Engineering and currently working towards my final year project.

I was hoping to gain some feedback and perspective on what other diabetics think about current diabetic products such as Glucose moniters, insulin pens and insulin pumps. Any problems that you may have come across , improvements that could be made and what you believe is the future of diabetic products

Any input would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

[fgummett]

You should first request permission from the Forum's Administrator if he is willing to allow such an activity here on DF :)

Meantime you might spend some time reading the forum to see that much of what you ask is already present in existing threads

[DiabeticDesign]

You should first request permission from the Forum's Administrator if he is willing to allow such an activity here on DF :)

Meantime you might spend some time reading the forum to see that much of what you ask is already present in existing threads

I have contacted the site administrator, the research I am conducting is not a buisness venture or advertising it is simply for educational purposes only, to help me gain insight and perspective from fellow diabetics and I felt that this was the best medium to reach the widest possible demographic. I have spent time reading the forum and gained alot of valuable information, however I felt that starting a new thread may generate new ideas or opinions.

[ShottleBop]

I would like to be able to flag readings easily as fbg, pre-breakfast/lunch/dinner, 1 hr post-b/l/d, 2 hrs post-b/l/d, bedtime, and that could give you separate averages for each of them.

[ShottleBop]

And adequate lighting so that I could test in the middle of the night without having to go into another room to turn on the light.

[davef]

hmm, maybe a sensor embedded under my skin, which would have a wireless connection to a display/meter so I could test without finger pricks.

[jer.lawrence]

Or (and this may exist), a piece of software that you can export your readings to to keep track of all that stuff Shot mentioned.

[flowerbabe68]

I like the idea of the sensor,jer.lawerence. Would enable us to check BG anytime with the push of a button. This would do away with the need for expensive test strips and would never run out of strips.

[xMenace]

The advances I see are

- an outright cure. There's lots of great work happening, but of course it's ten years away. (that's an inside joke)

Trial for Type 1 Cure Picking Up Momentum | Diabetes News Hound (http://diabetesnewshound.com/?p=560)

- artificial pump. Barking up a tree. A total waste of money if you ask me.

- inhaled insulin. Short of a cure, this offers great hope for improved control. Don't let previous failures scare you off.

Why New Inhaled Insulin May Replace Injections | Diabetes News Hound (http://diabetesnewshound.com/?p=657)

- diet. No so much a techniological advance. But in my opinion nutrition science is still far behind where it needs to be, and it's currently way off base. We need to get rid of refined sugars asap!

Currently

Pumps are the number one tool, but many, especially in the health communities, don't know how to tune them to their fullest potential. Basal testing is the primary example. It took me many weeks to track down these references. http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/pumping-insulin/28110-how-do-basal-testing.html#post330495 ASk 100 endos how to do it and I bet 95 either won't have a clue or won't acknowledge it's usefullness.

BG testing is still too invasive and not frequent enough. A monitor we could wear without penetration that would log 24hr sugars and provide alarm mechanisms is still a dream. It would save lives.

[imac]

If they can read the blood oxygen with a light shining through your finger, why cant they do the same with your blood glucose?

[howdysf]

Often I wish my insulin pen had the ability to tell me when the last time I took insulin was, and how many units I took.. I'm sure this feature is available on pumps, but I would love to see it on a pen..I guess some sort of "history" feature on a pen.. I currently use the Novopen..

[howdysf]

You should first request permission from the Forum's Administrator if he is willing to allow such an activity here on DF :)

Meantime you might spend some time reading the forum to see that much of what you ask is already present in existing threads

geez fgummett!.. pretty "crotchedy" reply!!... (just messin' with ya!) :-

[howdysf]

And adequate lighting so that I could test in the middle of the night without having to go into another room to turn on the light.

oohh... good one.. I wish the light on my meter worked (or I could figure it out!)... it seems to work when it wants to!

[Cluck]

I would like to be able to flag readings easily as fbg, pre-breakfast/lunch/dinner, 1 hr post-b/l/d, 2 hrs post-b/l/d, bedtime, and that could give you separate averages for each of them.

You can do some but not all of this on the One Touch Ping meter. I think the built in 'comments' for BG readings are restricted to pre and post meals. It would be nice to have all of the options you mention ShottleBop.

[fairyblood]

Often I wish my insulin pen had the ability to tell me when the last time I took insulin was, and how many units I took.. I'm sure this feature is available on pumps, but I would love to see it on a pen..I guess some sort of "history" feature on a pen...

Lily does have a pen that does just what you ask for it is called: Memoir. i am pretty sure you could use a novolog cartridge with it. Eli Lilly and Company - Lilly Introduces World's First Digital Insulin Pen With Memory (http://newsroom.lilly.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?releaseid=230738)

[reefedjib]

UltraSmart has a light. It also records Before/After Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner and Night, but not FBG or 1PP/2PP meals nor bedtime. The software is likewise restricted in reading category.

How does the Continuous Blood Glucose Meter (did I get that right? CBGM?) get its readings? Other than an artificial pancreas, getting continuous readings without strips would be my top choice.