– If Microsoft did it I wouldn’t trust my health to it. Viruses can kill.

FreeStyle used to offer a special Handspring Tracker which allowed you to test on a PDA. With modern PDAs like the popular Treo and SD slot, why not offer something that’s small and utilizes tech that you use all the time. If you’re a professional, why not use your Treo or Blackberry to test your BS and store it for later use (or text it to your doc). Or if you have an iPod, testing your sugar there and uploading it to iTunes in some way to track. Or even a Nintendo DS?

I emailed the idea to TheraSense/Freestyle/Abbott and they said that there was nothing in the works.

While pumps are the wave of the future, there are still many of us pen-pushers who really want realistic, cost-effective solutions that utilize things we use every day. Make it better in a meaningful way and people will come to the product. Merely changing the screen size and form factor really doesn’t constitute “new”.

And yes, I really want an OmniPod. I just wish that all that software could also show up on my Treo along with the the freestyle meter. Do that and I’d buy it!

Amy Tenderich got a great start to it all by writing her open letter to Steve Jobs about pump design. (follow up) A wonderfully put statement and request for the jump start to better devices from the people that make electronic devices the best. Best p…

From a consumer perspective, design is certainly an important factor, but functionality is even more important (besides the emotional and social factors that should be addressed). If the design is super cool but it’s not very pracitcal then it’s not fun anymore.

From an engineering perspective, there are other factors that are even more important than design such as functionality, reliablity and safety. Furthermore there is a jungle of regulations and standards to navigate through – obstacles that must be considered. As engineers, we are responsilbe to provide a device that is supposed to last for years, 24/7 – you can take it for a swim, drop it on concrete, expose it to body odor and other chemicals and so on. The iPod would probably not survive the first 10% of the tests done with the insulin pump.

There are fancy technologies out there that enable to design the device in the shape of a credit card – but these technologies are either not mature enough, way to expensive or just impossible for mass manufacutring – just to give you some reasons why it’s so difficult to come up with a more convenient and sleeker design.

Another important point is that Apples’ success isn’t all about the design – it’s about several jobs that are addressed (e.g. listen to musig, share music, manage music library, etc.). Too many companies are focused on the design aspect and forget about the main purpose of the device or service.

But there are many ways to help improving the diabetic’s live. We’re dedicated to continue working on it.

I’ve been a diabetic for 21 years now, long enough to know how far the field has come in the last couple of decades, and also how little it’s come. My biggest problem right now is that the makers of Lantus insulin (I think that’s Aventis) make cheap crappy bottles that break wide open if you so much as drop them an inch. My Lilly insulin bottles are thick glass jobbers.

But an Apple-designed insulin pump might just get me to reconsider all these needles.

A few months ago I was looking at blood sugar meters and cholesterol testers for family members.  I have had my blood tested for various things throughout my life and I’ve seen the standard drugstore-issue glucose monitors in action, so I had a …

In my review of some diabetes software that I got for the first time today, I can’t find much good to say about it.

One problem I see here is that the market for these devices is small. But I know there are folks with diabetes who have the smarts to do this type of work. Now all we need to do is pressure the device makers to recognize the importance of making it happen.

the writer is giving undue importance to external features like look and feel…

does it mean that if the glucose monitor were looking that good….the patient would flaunt it around like and ipod…

some design would help..but we have to ensure that the research funds are not spent on external look and feel to make it look more jazzy but should be spent on making it more efficient

Speaking of design, there is a physical limit on how small an insulin pump can get because there is a specific amount of insulin needed to treat diabetes. It is ridiculous to think that an insulin pump can be the size of a nano. Also, the pump that I am familiar with (Medtronic MiniMed) can go at least 6 weeks with a single AA battery, which easily blows the battery life of an ipod out of the water.

I’m not trying to be a complete pessimist either though. Do I think that medical devices could be better? Yes. Should we ask Steve Jobs to design these devices? No. Let Apple do what they’re good at and the drug companies do what they’re good at (in both cases, robbing us blind). My suggestion is to try working with Steve Jobs the philanthropist, not the designer.

Hey, if comment #16 is geniune, the Diabetes Community should be doing a freakin’ happy dance right now!

However, in practice, you push those buttons blindly in most cases to do the simple stuff. To get a unit of insulin, for instance, I’d press one button and hold, then another button twice. And I wouldn’t have to actually look at the device at all. Simpler than wheel-to-menu-item, press button, wheel-to-amount, press button. Arguably.

I just (literally, yesterday evening) started using the OmniPod system from Insulet. It divorces the control mechanism from the insulin pumping mechanism, which leaves you with a handheld gadget that controls the delivery of the insulin, and features, among other things, a hierarchical menu system with commonly used items on the top level. It requires you to actually look at the device to deliver insulin or change delivery options, but the interface is intuitive enough to make common tasks easy, if not as fast as a touch-only interface.

However, I do agree that this thing is way behind the curve. I work w/ embedded technology (ie algorithms for phones, STB’s) and its obvious to me how far pumps are behind the rest of the mobile device field. And considering insulin pumps cost over $5000, they should be way better than they are. Again, I’m thankful that I only have take one shot every 3 days instead of 4-5 shots A DAY. But they must get better in UI, functionality and in size.

The other side of Usability and User Experience is better Data Protocols and a Sync/Download story – again, we can look to the iPod for leadership -> So, where’s iTunes for Diabetes?

http://www.hans...sAndAnIPod.aspx

I would LOVE to be able to sync it with my MAC, and then have the ability to easily upload that data to my Endocrinologist. Think Keynote-type quality output. (an optional extension to iTunes?)

Would this make me any healthier? Not by itself. But here’s my thought. If making the user experience more friendly, and as a result makes me want to take readings that many more times a day, then yes, it just might lead to better control, and overall contribute to better health and a longer, more enjoyable, productive life. Apple could definitely help with this. I’m also thinking of the new 24 hour “constant” monitors. Currently, many insurance companies consider these to be “experimental”, and as a result, do not cover them on many plans. If nothing else, having Apple take part (take the lead), etc. in this effort, just might bring about public awareness. There is a cost to being diabetic. (Monetarily, as well as health-wise) We all share in this together to some extent. The healthier I am, the less medication I need, and the lower the cost for all of us with regard to insurance and medical costs. Unfortunately, my health, or lack of it, in a small way contributes to the cost of health care and insurance for others.

Sure, it may just be a small design issue, but in my daily fight to take personal responsibility for my illness and all that comes with it, every little bit helps.

Steve had his own experience with a rare Pancreatic Cancer not too long ago. Fortunately, his cancer was treatable, and as far as we know, his cancer is completely gone. Awesome! I too await that day!