[ A Pain-free way to pump in insulin ]

At the second edition of TEDxBangalore,industrial designer presents Insulin Delivery System which needs no human Intervention

by Shyama Krishna Kumar

Queen's Road: Devina Kothari a Rajkot-based industrial designer,is set to revolutionise the way diabetics deal with their illness.The Insulin Delivery System she has designed automatically administers insulin,as per the requirement,into the patient's body through a pain-free closed-loop system,one that requires no human intervention once the device is attached to the body.

Speaking to City Express at the sidelines of TEDxBangalore at MLR convention Center,Whitefield,on Sunday,Devina explained how the suave-looking wearable tech makes the patient's life simpler." Athletes who are diabetic have to constantly rethink their agendas.A device like ours would automatically monitor their insulin levels and administer just the right right dosage that they need,essentially removing any threat of accidents.Children who have to self administer insulin when they are at school almost always get no privacy.They often use washrooms which are more often than not,unclean.A device like this which to your body would remove such complications,"she said.

The idea came to her when her diabetic uncle failed to respond to medications due to fluctuations in his glucose level.She realised that she could use technology to help people in similar predicaments."Statistics say that every fifth person in India is diabetic.This is a serious epidemic.And diabetics in turn leads to several other health issues,"she said.

The device has two components- a monitoring system and a diffusing system.The device compares the actual insulin level to the desired level,and pumps in the desired amount.The monitoring system has a biosensor that goes inside the body and moniters the blood glucose level.It transfers data in to the diffusing unit,which then transcodes it and provides the required amount of insulin.The device has a embedded GPS with a microprocessor,an LED display and a physical connector.

Insulin Delivery System also uses a micro needle,which makes the process pain free.The idea sprang to Devina's mind after she was bitten by a mosquito. the final design of the device,which took her years to complete,won Devina the Red Dot Award of the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen,Essen,Germany,one of the oldest and most reputed design institutions in the world.

Devina is now in talks with several pharmaceutical companies to release the product.The process of acquiring patents and distribution rights is under way."If I need to get this device to every patient, I will need to work on its cost as well,which means I need to scale this thing up.And I plan to do that by making the device do more than just help diabetes patients,I want to reach out to people with different kinds of ailments that need self-administrating health devices."she said.