Equilibrium
A carb counting scale that helps type-1 diabetic (T1D) children balance their diet with just the right amount of short acting insulin (bolus).
Users
In 2019, 1.1 million children in the world were diagnosed with T1D. Each year, at least 132,000 more children gets newly diagnosed. - International Diabetes Federation (2019)
Expert Interviews
Interviews were conducted with two diabetic experts.
User Interviews
Interviews were conducted with children with type-1 diabetes and their guardians to gain insights into their experiences with diabetic care routines.
Background
Type-1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic condition caused by an autoimmnue system malfunction. It usually develops in children (intervals 3-4 and 7-8), teens, and young adults. The body of T1D patients do not product insulin/ produce insufficient insulin to convert their food (glucose) into energy, resulting in insulin reliance.
The Current Market
Current carb counting method in the market involves too many steps and are not kids-friendly. Thus, parents are often in charge of their kids’ carb counting routine and as a result children would guess their carbs input. As a result, children without much carb counting knowledge would end up being in emergency rooms.
Walk-A-Mile
I wore a Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) for 10 days to gain insight into the daily life of a person with diabetes.
Ideations
How might we help newly diagnosed T1D children aged 4-11 cope with their bolusing routine so that they can take control in balancing their diet easily and reduce their diabetic care burden?
Final Concept
Manufacturing