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Insulin Pump Research - User Feedback needed!

robbiejc3

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Researcher
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hello Everyone!

I'm Robbie and I am 17 years old. I'm in my second year of 6th form at school. One of the subjects I am taking is design technology - Product Design. For the subject I must construct a project over the period of a year where I find a design brief/problem, and attempt to solve it. The project starts off as research and designing and hopefully progresses into a finished product/prototype.

My teacher was attending a course on diabetes, and suggested that researching the insulin pump and looking at possible improvements would be an interesting project and one that could be useful. The aim is to digitally design a prototype of a new pump, and make a model to a realistic level, but obviously not fully functioning.

The first stage of the project involves lots of research into current solutions and products. I would really appreciate if users could answer a couple of the questions below for me to put together a specification for an improved system.

- What are the inconveniences that you encounter when using the pump?
- What features would make the pump better?
- What features are not needed or cause problems?
- Are there any other things that would be useful for me to know about the pump or users experiences?

Kind Regards!

Robbie Cooper
 
Hi!

Great project!

My main problems are:
1. Not being able to input 0.5 IC ratios (e.g. 1 unit of insulin to 5.5g of carb) - I can either put in 5g or 6g, so when I need 5.5g, I have to manually work it out which is a pain!
2. Not being able to alter my basal setting without suspending insulin delivery - and then remembering to turn it back on again!

Those are the things that really stand out, but there are probably a few more if I really think about it!

Good luck!
 
Hi Robbie,

Your idea is potentially a great one. I want to point out that this isn't unique just to you - people are constantly working on new and better diabetes equipment.

I would suggest that you start by finding out the different insulin pumps that are available. There are quite a few, each with different features (and the same overall goal) So, what may be a problem with one pump, will not necessarily be a problem with another.

What's your background knowledge of diabetes like? Are you aware of the other ways to take insulin, beside for the insulin pump (such as multiple injections)? I'm assuming you are aware of the different types of diabetes, and the basics of what causes each.

Have you covered all basics with your knowledge of the insulin pump? That is, understanding what insulin is used (rapid acting as opposed to long lasting),
basal (background insulin for every day movement) and bolus (the added, usually when eating but sometimes needed when blood sugar raises, example, when stressed).
Are you aware of the different ratios needed? (Basal rates, Insulin to carbs eaten [I:C], how much insulin will bring down the blood sugar by _ [ISF] )
Do you know what the extend bolus feature is about? (when eating a large fatty meal like a donut or pizza, the food isn't digested straight away so you use this feature to spread out the insulin for a number of hours)

Once you've covered the basics, that is, what diabetes is and what functions the pump has to offer, I'd suggest you find out first the different pumps that are out there and the advantages and disadvantages that users talk about. On the whole, like I mentioned before, if one pump is missing a particular feature, another may have it. Once you have that you can try to design your pump in a way that combines a few pumps together. (If this doesn't exist already).

Read up on here on the same forum you've posted this under - about what people say about different insulin pumps.

So, I'm on the Animas Vibe. I'm due for a new pump so in the process of deciding which one to go for. The inconvenience I find with this particular pump is that I have no remote. I hate that I have no remote. However, I could go to the Medtronic and have a remote. Or the Accu-Chek. I'm in the UK, so I can't get the T-Slim but that sounds a great pump available in the US. I may go for the Cellnovo which not only has a remote, but additionally doesn't have wiring, another inconvenience. (The Omnipod is another popular option, also without wiring).

What features would make the pump better? My ultimate dream is that my remote is my phone. I want to have the Cellnovo remote as an app on my phone. That is, all the features it has on its remote (which looks like a phone) as an app on my phone. There is such an option for me if I get the Dana R pump and connect it to my Android phone via the OpenAPS system. This isn't official, it's through the Nightscout Project. Alternatively, also through Nightscout, I could bolus on my phone if I had an old Medtronic pump, an Iphone and some other stuff to set it up.

I'm assuming you know what the CGM (continuous glucose monitor) is. That gives readings every five minutes. These blood sugar readings may or may not connect to the pump. So, the Dexcom G4 connects to my Animas Vibe. (The Dexcom G5 may too I'm not sure). The Medtronic CGM's connect to the Medtronic pumps. I hear Cellnovo are working on connecting the Dexcom G5 to its remote. It's not yet happened though.
Medtronic have taken this to the next step - they've got a suspend option on their latest pumps, so that when the blood sugars fall too low, it suspects the insulin. (this works on 630G and 670G). The new Medtronic 670G has some cool features - they have the market for the next couple of years, and are working on creating a closed loop system. It has some upgraded features to its system, so read up on that too.

So, if you haven't already, do some more preliminary research to see where you want to go with this. As I've pointed out, it's an ongoing movement that people are working on to better all the time. There's those companys that are FDA approved, such as Medtronic, and with the help of technology and a great group of people - such as the Nightscout foundation.

I hope I've helped you, and if you need anything else - please feel free to ask.

Good luck on your project!

Rachel
 
Last edited:
Robbie,

This site provides a lot of useful information about pumps that may help you until you get more first hand responses from our great forum members here

http://www.inputdiabetes.org.uk/alt-insulin-pumps/pumpchoice/

As you can see, the link has pros and cons from various pump users so may help you somewhat.
 
Okulu said:
1. Not being able to input 0.5 IC ratios (e.g. 1 unit of insulin to 5.5g of carb) - I can either put in 5g or 6g, so when I need 5.5g, I have to manually work it out which is a pain!
Click to expand...
@Okulu are you able to program 2u insulin for 11g carb? That might be the answer.
 
robbiejc3 said:
- Are there any other things that would be useful for me to know about the pump or users experiences?
Click to expand...
Hi Robbie, there are lots of things that people might want in a pump, but the single most important factor for this (and anything related to automated insulin dosing) is safety. So while you might look at features and form factor in design, it's crucial that a pump delivers exact doses time and time again, and has the inbuilt safety checks to ensure it doesn't over or under deliver and can identify when it's not working properly. As much as anything, this is the stuff that makes pump design hard. The bells and whistles of whether it has a remote, does it receive CGM data, etc are mostly superficial. The question of how do you build the safety systems and feedback loops to ensure they work is the key question.
 
Snapsy said:
@Okulu are you able to program 2u insulin for 11g carb? That might be the answer.
Click to expand...

Oh thanks Snapsy, hadn't thought of that! Alas, unfortunately, I've just looked, and I can't - I can only change the carb amount (it's am Omnipod). Although I've got used to it, it's definitely a design fault... Thanks anyway though!
 
Thanks to you all for your replies! I shall keep you updated on my progress.
 
Hello again

I have another small questionnaire on user experience problems whilst using an insulin pump.

I would really appreciate it if you could take a small amount of time to fill out the form for me as this sort of research is very important in my project!

https://goo.gl/forms/LYLN7GKOkO8Q3oxS2

Kind Regards

Robbie Cooper
 
Hi @robbiejc3

Before I approved your latest survey, I ran through it to check the content.
However, since I am not a pump user, you will need to discard my entry, or my contribution may muck up your findings! - you will spot it easily because it is the one with all 4s instead proper answers to your second question.

Hope that makes sense!
 
Done and dusted!

Just to expand on my experiences of the problems listed, I've had just two of the issues on your list - I've caught the hosepipe ONCE on a door handle, and to be honest that had been the most hilarious thing that had happened to me all day that day (okay, it did require a bit of mopping up, but no biggie), plus I've been reacting to the adhesive on the cannulas recently.

Both of these problems were/are niggles.

 
Hello everyone!

I'm back again. I have just finished some drawings of initial design concepts for either a pump or the system as a whole. Now I am obviously not a professional, so these are not designed to work (at this stage at least) and is purely conceptual.

The feedback and help I have had from the last couple of posts has been very helpful, and some more feedback would be even better. I would appreciate it if you could give some positives, negatives or some new ideas or features, regarding any of the concepts I have drawn together.

I have attached the two A3 scans of the drawings
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw7p5lLzuw7ea3ZQZEJiNFlJdHM
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw7p5lLzuw7eODFPczlsemotYUk

Kind Regards

Robbie Cooper
 
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