Probe design suggested for glucoband
We all know how severe Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is and the complexities associated with its treatment make it hard for patients to deal with it. Thus, for certain DM types having an automated system that can deliver insulin based on glucose reading, painlessly, will not only reduce manual intervention but also keep the individual healthy. I have seen in my own family how diabetics have to be given utmost care and regular insulin injections many times a day.
It was third year during my undergraduate days when we started working on “glucoband”. A semi-invasive closed-loop insulin delivery system. I can’t recall the motivation behind its ideation, but it was genuine. Along with two of my friends from the department of Biological Sciences & Bioengineering (BSBE) we worked out a strategy to design the wearable device.
Since all three were in the college at that time, we had the advantage of getting our queries addressed from the best of the faculties. It took us a while to come up with a strategy, (Not a perfect strategy!) and we participated in a Biobusiness Plan competition held at IIT Kanpur. There were posters from all over India in 2007-08 and we luckily won the third prize. I still remember an examiner asking: What would happen if you don’t make it real? I was clueless! And then he said, “People will die without proper treatment”. These lines didn’t resonate with me until recently when I myself had continuous health setbacks. I also remember receiving an email from someone requesting the device because their child was a diabetic.
Later, we again pitched the same idea at another competition where we won a consolation prize. However, one guy said, “We need not just participate in different competitions but decide on working full-time on the project to make it a reality”. But that never happened as all three of us went in different directions post our graduation.
However, a ray of hope illuminated as IITK decided to initiate a science club, headed by a prominent faculty, to involve students from different backgrounds into major science projects. With the help of some of our juniors still studying there, we kept working on the idea.
But the first objective that needed to be fulfilled was getting an idea patent. For this, we juggled our current job and this project as getting a patent was a start that we needed desperately. We and others went through loads of existing patents/published work but couldn’t convince the patent attorney to file for a US patent. The year was 2009!
When I joined SUNY in 2010 for my PhD, I had discussed this project with one of the faculties in our department who told me it was an “open-ended problem”.
Currently, there are few products available in the market catering to Diabetics.
NOTE: I have tried to cover our journey and not the technical details (Reports Attached). But, certainly much has already happened in this area and at present our report might just be obsolete.