DIABETES PROJECT
Problems for Type 1 Diabetes Patient
While meeting with our client, Katelyn Hill, we needed to establish some problems that Type 1 Diabetics found with the process of checking their blood sugar frequently. This is what we found:
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It was inconvenient to throw away a test strip
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Test strips start to build up in the case and fall out
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Bloody tissue kept in the case
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Case with zipper becomes annoying to close
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Hard to remove strips out of the case they are in
From these problems we decided to focus on the test strip case and the bloody tissue problem.
We started to generate ideas for products that we could prototype and share with our client.
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One of our ideas to solve the bloody napkin problem was to use a piece of black cloth to wipe the blood while pricking a finger. That way the blood could not be seen on the cloth while in the case and it was eco-friendly by not wasting tissues. The issue we ran in with this idea was that even though the cloth was black, you still needed to wash the cloth frequently for sanitary reasons. In order to do that, you need specific chemicals to remove the blood so you cannot simply place it in the wash.
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Another solution we had for the bloody napkin problem was to create a wheel of napkin, essentially. There would be an opening for the person to wipe their finger on it and once the napkin wheel has been used up, it can easily be removed from the wheel and disposed of. There are multiple napkins in each wheel that would be separated by a clear plastic film so the napkins do not become contaminated. We really liked this idea because it would be inexpensive to produce and it seemed like a product that could be widely used. Also it would be small enough to place in someone's case. But, it is still in the works and we could not develop a prototype on time for our class presentation.
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We came up with one idea for the test strip case. It has a very simple mechanism that resembles a sliding door to remove one single strip from the case without spilling out others. It would be small enough to put inside a case and easy enough for those with arthritis to open and close without too much effort. This is the product we decided to follow through with and even had the opportunity to create a 3D prototype with Fusion 360. The image of this prototype is the one selected above.
Ideas
