Several participated in the 2011 open innovation contest held in USA and some of the brightest concepts were presented from across the world in an attempt to improve the life of diabetics.

There were nearly 100 entries from students in the field of Medicine, Entomology, Nutrition, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Product Design, Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Interactive Media, Architecture, and more.

Jeffrey Brewer, President and CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), recently said "This contest has created a great deal of buzz within the diabetes industry, really helping to push the evolution of medical devices."

It is always a challenge for the judges to balance the concepts of "great design" versus “innovation, "aesthetics" over "functional feasibility", and the potential of an idea to come to market soon.

After much thought and deep consideration for all the basic requirements, the following prize winners have been selected.

1. Pancreum

Futuristic in design, this modular three-part “wearable artificial pancreas” takes the combination of tubeless insulin pumping and continuous glucose monitoring to a different level.

Its creators have also created a third component that delivers the hormone ‘glucagon’ as an antidote to low blood sugar. The “brains” of the system rests in the Bluetooth-enabled CoreMD, which is designed to “create a flexible, open platform, and common architecture design that would allow for medical devices to be more affordable than what is available in the market today.”

The judges unanimously agreed that Pancreum is an amazing futuristic concept. “It deals with major design flaws in all of the current pumps and is the first design I have seen that brings together a dual delivery system along with CGM in an integrated and turnkey fashion,” one of the judges remarked.

Pancreum appears to be in development, already, and it can without doubt impact the lives of diabetics.

Electronic and software engineer Gil de Paula and his team at Pancreum, LLC, have developed this award- winning design!

Congratulations!

2. BLOB

It is a small, unique, portable insulin-delivery device unlike anything we’ve seen before. It can be easily carried around in a pocket or worn as a neck-chain. It even contains a coolant for those diabetics who live in warmer places.

The judges were impressed for what it was - a simple, elegant solution to a real-world problems associated with diabetes- which is to carry the insulin around and inject it without anyone noticing..!

If one could wear these little, pocket-sized “blobs” one is not required to wear gadgets that is adhered to the body..!

Congratulations type 1 diabetic (from Uruguay) Lucianna Urruty for her innovative thinking!

3. DiaPETIc

This gadget brought elements of gaming into the juvenile diabetic world.

It is an iPhone/iPod touch application that prompts a glucose meter to “acknowledge the user as a human being.”

The current model is designed specifically for teenage girls, but plans are on to create models for boys and younger children.

The judges felt that this application has used the latest interactive technologies to bring about behavior change and that it is in sync with key health trends and has acknowledged the patients’ psychological needs!

Congratulations to designer Emily Allen on her creation!

Reference:

http://www.diabetesmine.com/2011/06/announcing-our-winners-the-2011-diabetesmine%E2%84%A2-design-challenge.html

Source-Medindia