myDaibetes is an app designed for young teenagers aged 13-16 with Type 1 diabetes. This app helps and motivates them to stay on top of their routine monitoring their diabetes daily.
myDaibetes
Diabetes is a chronic disorder in which a person’s body is unable to produce insulin to regulate glucose levels in their blood. If the condition is left untreated it can lead to heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.
What is diabetes?
There are three types of diabetes:
Type 1: A genetic disorder that is usually diagnosed in younger people
Type 2: Diabetes that develops over time and is related to a person’s diet
Gestational: Diabetes when pregnant
Types of Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes Stats
Interviewees/ Potential Users
Ana
Oscar
Gina
Age: 14
High school freshman
Diagnosed at 6 years old
Single child and is part of the cheerleading team
Age: 15
High school sophomore
Recently diagnosed with diabetes at 14
Oldest of three and plays in the soccer team
Age: 16
High school junior
Diagnosed at 13 years old
Middle child and is part of many clubs and plays volleyball
I interviewed three high school students and their parents in order to learn more about their daily routine monitoring and treating their Type 1 diabetes.
A Day in the Life
After the interviews, I created a flow map of how often the teenagers had to monitor and treat their diabetes.
Each time they check their glucose levels, they have to log it down in order for their doctors to administer insulin dosages and provide an appropriate diet and exercise plan.
They also have to inject themselves with insulin with a syringe or insulin pump when their glucose levels are high and eat more carbohydrates or sweets when their glucose levels are low.
Challenges treating T1 Diabetes
Tools to help manage T1 Diabetes
Competitive Analysis
Freestyle Libre 2 Report Graphs
Dexcom Clarity App Report Screen
Freestyle Libre 2 Live Graph
Information is vague on the graph and the teenagers had trouble making sense of whether they were in range throughout the day
Dexcom does a better job of letting the user know the percentage of their glucose levels were in range but lacks a daily graph showing when the levels were high and low
The graph has a clear green area when glucose levels are in range, an orange line to indicate when glucose levels are high, and a red line when glucose levels are low
InPen: Daily Live Graph
One of the few systems that have a glucometer and an insulin injection device that work together
Innovative interactive graph style showcasing glucose levels (purple) paired with a glucose dosage (blue)
However, users have to navigate to reports to see if their glucose levels are in range
Apple Fitness
The teenagers liked Apple Fitness to track their exercise since it also tracked their sleeping and could easily input how many calories to lose on a daily basis
T1D1 Insulin Calculator/Carb Tracker
A functional app that lets users easily calculate insulin doses by inputting the number of carbohydrates each meal has
However, teenagers often let their parents use this app since it is not very approachable for them to use
Synthesis and Goals
For a young teenager, treating an incurable disease on a daily basis is overwhelmingly taxing.
On top of that, most apps designed to aid people in treating diabetes make it more overwhelming with the great amount of information presented on a small screen
Furthermore, in most scenarios, they are the only ones in their class with T1 diabetes leaving them feeling alone.
The new app designed specifically for young teenagers has to be
User-friendly, accessible, and interactive
Work with smart glucometers and insulin devices
Have features that allow them to track carbohydrates, exercise, and insulin doses
Provide the right amount of information so teenagers can understand their glucose levels
Provide a social feature in order to create a small community of teenagers who can share their daily routines
myDaibetes System
my G-Ring is a smart glucometer that I designed. It uses similar sensors found in other smart rings used to track a user’s health. In my design, these infrared sensors are calibrated to track a user’s glucose level unintrusively.
The Omnipod is one of the best and smallest insulin pumps on the market. It can provide up to three days of insulin before a replacement and it works with some glucometers on the market.
myDaibetes is designed to work with my G-Ring and the Omnipod and easily links these devices through Bluetooth.
Storyboards
Flowmap
myDaibetes
The home screen would have a morphing circle with the user’s glucose level reading.
Once the user taps their ring, if the glucose levels are in their appropriate range, the circle remains in place with a light blue UI.
If the user’s glucose levels are high, the circle morphs into an arrow facing upwards and the UI color switches to red prompting the user to calculate an insulin dose.
If the user’s glucose levels are low, the circle morphs into an arrow facing downwards and the color switches to purple prompting the user to eat a sweet or to send an emergency call if they are not feeling well and about to faint.
Calculating Insulin Dose
The app will work with the insulin pump and calculate an insulin dose.
My Diary/ My Dai
Through an interactive live graph/calendar, users can see how their glucose levels fluctuate throughout the day with a color coded background.
They can schedule their meals, workouts, and events with their friends. They can also access their daily scheduled glucose readings.
Meal Planning
The app will come with a list of meals designed for Type 1 diabetics but users can also create their own meals and add them to the existing list.
Exercise Tab
The app offers a simple calorie burner counter and can work with smart watches to set up simple exercise activities.
Social tab and Profile
Users can share their progress and meals with their friends and organize events and hangouts with them.
The app also has a reward system in which parents can set prizes for their children and as they complete insulin doses or set up exercises and keep up with their routine meals, they gain points toward those prizes.
Parent View
The parents are able to see the live graph/calendar and set up the prizes mentioned before.
They can also send the information to their children’s doctor so they can monitor their Type 1 diabetes and adjust their treatment accordingly.
Jump into other projects
