Student Design Project for a Portable Insulin Cooler

[don_steel]

Hi everyone,

My name is Donald and I am studying Product Design Engineering at Strathclyde University. I have just started 4th year and we have to carry out an individual project based on a problem we have observed that we would like to try and solve.

My project idea was inspired by a friend who is studying Geography and was due to travel to Africa for 5 weeks over the summer as part of the research for her course. While preparing for her trip there were real concerns over whether she would actually make it because she struggled to find a suitable storage method for the insulin she wasn't currently using. She was eventually able to go after buying the Frio wallets however even these didn't quite fit her needs.

My idea is to design and develop a portable fridge type product that could use a rechargeable battery to store medication vials for people travelling or perhaps competing in sports competitions in countries with extreme climate conditions. The main focus of the product would be maintaining the integrity of the medication by keeping it cool and offering physical protection for the vials to offer the user peace of mind and allow them to enjoy their trip.

I am currently at the research stage and am just looking for some feedback from potential users to help justify the project by determining if insulin storage while travelling is a real concern. Whether they think this would be a good product and what sort of features they would look for in it ( e.g. storage capacity, extra compartments for paraphernalia, needle disposal etc).

Any feedback that you could give me would be a real help and would be much appreciated.
Thanks a lot,

Don.

[dbaratta]

[QUOTE=don_steel;510383]Hi everyone,



My idea is to design and develop a portable fridge type product that could use a rechargeable battery to store medication vials for people travelling or perhaps competing in sports competitions in countries with extreme climate conditions. The main focus of the product would be maintaining the integrity of the medication by keeping it cool and offering physical protection for the vials to offer the user peace of mind and allow them to enjoy their trip.

Insulin is a lot more stable then it used to be, it can be room temp for 28 days before it becomes ineffective, so for me I don't need a cooler for my insulin, but, I can see where if you had to leave it somewhere warm, like your car, or outside in the sun, you might need a cooling system.

If it were me using your product, I would want it as compact as possible and a place to store extra batteries. I would also like the batter life to be as long as possible with an indicator when the batteries were getting low. You would also need a temp guage on there to be sure the drug was staying cool enough without being too cold. Just what I would look for.

:D

[Subby]

Hi everyone,

My name is Donald and I am studying Product Design Engineering at Strathclyde University. I have just started 4th year and we have to carry out an individual project based on a problem we have observed that we would like to try and solve.

My project idea was inspired by a friend who is studying Geography and was due to travel to Africa for 5 weeks over the summer as part of the research for her course. While preparing for her trip there were real concerns over whether she would actually make it because she struggled to find a suitable storage method for the insulin she wasn't currently using. She was eventually able to go after buying the Frio wallets however even these didn't quite fit her needs.

My idea is to design and develop a portable fridge type product that could use a rechargeable battery to store medication vials for people travelling or perhaps competing in sports competitions in countries with extreme climate conditions. The main focus of the product would be maintaining the integrity of the medication by keeping it cool and offering physical protection for the vials to offer the user peace of mind and allow them to enjoy their trip.

I am currently at the research stage and am just looking for some feedback from potential users to help justify the project by determining if insulin storage while travelling is a real concern. Whether they think this would be a good product and what sort of features they would look for in it ( e.g. storage capacity, extra compartments for paraphernalia, needle disposal etc).

Any feedback that you could give me would be a real help and would be much appreciated.
Thanks a lot,

Don.

How did the frio wallet not fit her needs? Relatively cheap, recharge for days with 5 minutes in water... I have difficulty imagine any contraption that may break down and is likely bigger, being desirable over a frio or number of frios. I felt the same way when traveling for a number of weeks overseas with frios.

[Independent]

have an austrailian friend who tells me the native austrailians leave their insulin uncooled and it has no ill effects on them.

dont see how heat or UV light can destroy a protien? it cant evaporate which would change the structure but other than that the reccomendation to keep it cool is just a legallity.

indy

[imac]

have an austrailian friend who tells me the native austrailians leave their insulin uncooled and it has no ill effects on them.

dont see how heat or UV light can destroy a protien? it cant evaporate which would change the structure but other than that the reccomendation to keep it cool is just a legallity.

indy

I dont know of any native australians who leave their insulin uncooled. I live in one of the hottest parts of australia(tropical north queensland) and the idea of a battery operated cooler is good as the standard cool pack lasts about an hour in a hot car. Novomix insulins must be kept out of light and under 30 deg C.

[Independent]

I dont know of any native australians who leave their insulin uncooled. I live in one of the hottest parts of australia(tropical north queensland) and the idea of a battery operated cooler is good as the standard cool pack lasts about an hour in a hot car. Novomix insulins must be kept out of light and under 30 deg C.

but why?


my source is a pharmacist:confused:

[fgummett]

dont see how heat or UV light can destroy a protien?Meat is made of protein... why do you think we cook it? Ever hear of UV units to purify water and HVAC systems (you can even by a personal one for your tooth brush)... microbes are also made of protein :)

[fairyblood]

but why? my source is a pharmacist:confused:

Well my source is myself. I have had insulin go bad because of heat and let me tell you as a type I diabetic that is not a situation I like to be in. Especially when camping or backpacking and a long distance from a pharmacy. Insulin can be kept at room temp for a pretty long time but anything above and you are risking the insulins usability.

[Independent]

so what is the biochemical reaction that causes insulin to go off. its more than likely that the diabetes itself caused the problems not insulin which has gone off.

still dont get it?

body tempreture is like 36C so wouldnt a long acting insulin go off in the blood stream?

I just need to know the process and breakdown of the chromosomes and how this happens and why. it cant chrystalise or evaporate so what process is it?

[imac]

I have no idear why insulin must be cooled, but as I have stated the novomix instructions clearly state that it must be kept out of the light and below 30deg C. Even the pen you have in use although it can be kept out of the fridge for one month, providing the temp. is below 30 deg. In this part of the world the temp stays at a constant 35 to 37 deg. day and night. These mixes of insulin contain a list of about 20 ingrediants, maybe some of these are affected by heat.

[Grunch]

so what is the biochemical reaction that causes insulin to go off. its more than likely that the diabetes itself caused the problems not insulin which has gone off.

still dont get it?

body tempreture is like 36C so wouldnt a long acting insulin go off in the blood stream?

I just need to know the process and breakdown of the chromosomes and how this happens and why. it cant chrystalise or evaporate so what process is it?

It's called denaturation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denaturation_(biochemistry)).

[fairyblood]

so what is the biochemical reaction that causes insulin to go off. its more than likely that the diabetes itself caused the problems not insulin which has gone off.

I don't know. All I know is that I had some Lantus that was exposed to heat and when I injected it it was as useful as injecting water for keep my numbers in check. I was in the 500's(27) and "HI" all day, even with rapid acting. The Lantus was fine before the sun and heat.