Problem:
Diabetes is a huge problem around the world. About 208,000 Americans under age 20 are estimated to have diagnosed diabetes, approximately 25% of that population (http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/type-1-diabetes-guide/type-1-diabetes). In 2012, 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3% of the population, had diabetes (http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/type-1-diabetes/type-1-diabetes-facts-tips).
There are many treatments for diabetes, but it still remains a huge issue, especially in the United States. Adding one more solution for people to choose from could only help.
Previous attempted solutions:
The most common treatment for diabetics nowadays are the daily injection of artificial insulin and the use of an insulin pump to monitor blood sugar levels. The current treatment sacrifices the freedom and comfortability of diabetics. Also, the treatment plan is pricy and can be fatal to Needle Phobes (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-1-diabetes/basics/treatment/con-20019573).
Insulin patches also have been recently introduced to the market (https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/06/gu-smart-patch-2015/). These insulin secreting “patches” are helpful but remain unavailable to most people (because of the cost) and a serious nuisance to users.
Current limitations / Present need:
Our primary concern and limitation is that insulin is a large protein, making it difficult to get through the skin and be effective (http://www.pnas.org/content/112/27/8260.abstract). This means that, to get through the skin, insulin has a much harder time than some other, smaller, proteins
Since we are making an insulin patch, it also makes it very difficult to figure out how to get the insulin in the actual patch. The electromagnet simply activates the patch, so we have to rule out the possibility of the magnet of affecting the way to get insulin through the skin.
Your proposed solution / product:
Our proposed solution for Type 1 Diabetes would be to use a special insulin patch instead of a shot. These insulin patches would be hooked up to a detector that measures insulin levels blood, which itself is connected to an electromagnet.
When the detector detects a need for more insulin, it activates the electromagnet. The magnet would switch polarity, and push the insulin (which would have to be magnetized beforehand) out of the patch and through the skin, entering the bloodstream.
Diabetes is a huge problem around the world. About 208,000 Americans under age 20 are estimated to have diagnosed diabetes, approximately 25% of that population (http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/type-1-diabetes-guide/type-1-diabetes). In 2012, 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3% of the population, had diabetes (http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/type-1-diabetes/type-1-diabetes-facts-tips).
There are many treatments for diabetes, but it still remains a huge issue, especially in the United States. Adding one more solution for people to choose from could only help.
Previous attempted solutions:
The most common treatment for diabetics nowadays are the daily injection of artificial insulin and the use of an insulin pump to monitor blood sugar levels. The current treatment sacrifices the freedom and comfortability of diabetics. Also, the treatment plan is pricy and can be fatal to Needle Phobes (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-1-diabetes/basics/treatment/con-20019573).
Insulin patches also have been recently introduced to the market (https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/06/gu-smart-patch-2015/). These insulin secreting “patches” are helpful but remain unavailable to most people (because of the cost) and a serious nuisance to users.
Current limitations / Present need:
Our primary concern and limitation is that insulin is a large protein, making it difficult to get through the skin and be effective (http://www.pnas.org/content/112/27/8260.abstract). This means that, to get through the skin, insulin has a much harder time than some other, smaller, proteins
Since we are making an insulin patch, it also makes it very difficult to figure out how to get the insulin in the actual patch. The electromagnet simply activates the patch, so we have to rule out the possibility of the magnet of affecting the way to get insulin through the skin.
Your proposed solution / product:
Our proposed solution for Type 1 Diabetes would be to use a special insulin patch instead of a shot. These insulin patches would be hooked up to a detector that measures insulin levels blood, which itself is connected to an electromagnet.
When the detector detects a need for more insulin, it activates the electromagnet. The magnet would switch polarity, and push the insulin (which would have to be magnetized beforehand) out of the patch and through the skin, entering the bloodstream.