Diabetes.

In the end, my measurement device has focused on diabetes as designing for the user came naturally (being one myself, its like cheating in market research).

I'm sure everyone has a reasonable idea of what it is, but as a quick rundown, its essentially an inability to naturally control your own blood sugars. Which is annoying as sugar is pretty important in day to day life. This has both short and long term consequences, if blood sugars are too low the diabetic risks coma and worse in the short term and continual low blood sugars will decrease the symptoms of hypoglaecemia (low blood sugars) meaning that the diabetic might not realise that they are in trouble. If blood sugars are too high damage occurs to the body's organs and there are crappy consequences down the track.

So as you can see its pretty important to get it right! 

So what my devices do is help in the control of diabetes. Control consists of 2 things, reasonably constant blood sugars and the absence of large highs and lows. The first device is a watch, worn normally. This gives the user an indication of how fast their blood sugars are increasing or decreasing. This is important as it has a direct correlation to the diabetic's diet and also an impact on how much insulin (the hormone used to control blood sugars) the user should inject. Initially I made the watch to be pretty sci fi but I've peeled that back a bit to make the appeal more broad. It involves a solid side made from spring steel which houses the electronics and an adjustable strap for fit.

The second part was added initially for workshop purposes but has actually become integral to the concept. Its a simple blood glucometer (blood tester) except it is one object rather than the 4 part blood glucometer I currently use (which is REALLY annoying when attempting to test my blood sugars in any other circumstances than at a desk).

This produces a raw blood sugar concentration, a combined figure with the trend number (to be used to calculate the dosage) and another figure which combines the number of poor blood glucose measurements (bad highs and lows) with the number of poor trending measurements to give a measurement of the user's overall control. Graded from 1-100, this figure is important as the only other absolute indication an diabetic receives about their control is from a test called the HBA1c which is performed at the most 3 times a year. This test is also inaccurate in that if you have large highs but lots of lows the average reading is positive as the opposing measurements balance out. Therefore the benefits of the measurement is twofold for the diabetic. It provides them with an accurate measure of their control all the time, providing a kick up the arse if needed, and also gives a more accurate continual picture of their control for both them and their doctor meaning they can better tailor their management.

So thats it, if you have made it this far through my rant I applaud you, you deserve a lolly! But a sugar free one.

Ed Hamer