We ended our campaign before the planned date, please check the updates page for more infos.
Huge thanks to all our backers and supporters!
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Introducing Insulin Angel
A team of experienced mobile health innovators got together to create Insulin Angel. The people who created Insulin Angel are diabetics or parents to diabetic children which makes this product also come straight from the heart.
The app notifies you before your insulin reaches a
dangerous temperature and, crucially, if you forget and
leave it behind. It makes diabetes easier to live with.
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"This will be such a breakthrough. Reducing the anxiety of living with medical conditions is just as important for me in my job as the condition itself." -Dr. Philip Unwin of The Hart Surgery
As many as 380 million people around the world suffer from diabetes, and for those dependent on insulin their daily regime of injections and blood tests can present a huge challenge.
Insulin Angel works with any medication that's temperature sensitive, or even if you simply want to make sure you don't forget your equipment - everything from asthma pumps to EpiPens to insulin.
What Does Insulin Angel Do?
+ It Gives You Peace of Mind: Temperature Tracking
Insulin Angel measures your medication’s temperature and warns you before dangerous levels are reached via the dedicated smartphone app.
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+ It Looks Out for You: Monitoring Stored Medication
A recent study showed that 29% of domestic fridges regularly operate at temperatures of 9°C and above, which is higher than the recommended upper limit for most stored temperature sensitive medication.
Insulin Angel operates wirelessly inside the fridge and connects to your smartphone. In the event of a power outage, or other fridge failure, Insulin Angel tracks and records the storage condition of your stored and reserve medication.
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+ It Helps You to Remember: Proximity Tracking
Insulin Angel alerts you only when you forget or lose your medication. Its context algorithms recognise if you are around home or work and when you are elsewhere. This avoids false notifications, for example when you are in the garden and your medication is somewhere indoors.
+ It Keeps You Informed: Notification of Parents and Carers
We ourselves are parents of children with Type 1 diabetes and we know how stressful it is to live with a chronic condition. Insulin Angel can simultaneously push alerts to a parent or carer as well as the user, to ensure that important messages are acted upon fast.
+ It Knows What Is Best: Built-in Medication Database
The most used insulins in the UK, USA and Germany are in the app's database. The database contains manufacturers' temperature recommendations, both for in-use medication and stored medications as well asseveral temperature sensitive blood glucose monitors from Accu-Chek and Bayer.
In addition, we store data for the rheumatism medication Humira and the asthma medication Salbutamol. The database continues to evolve and expand, and we are keen to hear from you what additions you would like to see.
+ It Plans Ahead: Weather Warnings
The Insulin Angel app gathers weather data about your current location and warns you about upcoming heat-waves or cold spells so you can take extra care.
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Donate an Insulin Angel Device
The ability of Insulin Angel to monitor the temperature of medicines is especially important in regions with extreme climates lacking access to refrigeration.
With this in mind we have partnered with Access Afya, a social enterprise creating a network of high-tech health centresin Kenya providing consultations, information, on-site diagnostics, and authentic medication.
All of our perks may be bought as donations to our charity partner Access Afya. simply purchase as normal and wait for us to get in touch.
The Insulin Angel Device
Four iterations of our design have led us to a small, light and portable product (5cm x 2.5cm / 2” x 1” inch).
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We value quality, so we chose injection-molded ABS plastic and high quality electronics from Nordic Semiconductors. The battery is a readily available CR 2032 coin cell.
The digital temperature sensor is accurate to +/- 0.5 ºC and the internal memory can save up to three months of sensor data, which can be retrieved on the app and exported in csv or xml formats. Proximity sensing is also accurate, we have tested it up to 30 meters and even through two thick brick walls!
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The Insulin Angel App
The Insulin Angel app will be available for free on both iOS and Android, and will be compatible with every modern smartphone that has Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity (iPhone 4S +, Android 4.3+). The apps runs in the background, communicates with the device at regular intervals and warns the user by a sound and vibration notification every time the medication approaches an unsafe temperature or if it becomes lost.
We are programming the apps with clever battery-saving algorithms so that the Bluetooth connection does not compromise your smartphone’s battery life.
When setting up each one of the new devices, you can choose your specific Insulin, or medication or test equipment from a list, and the app will automatically set up safe storage and in-use temperature settings.
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The Roadmap
The Team
We are a team of diabetics and parents of diabetic children who know that living with a medical condition such as diabetes is challenging. There is a lot to think about, with very serious consequences now and in the long term. It’s complicated and worrying. We could not find a solution to our problems so we decided to make one ourselves!
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Reducing Wastage, Reducing Costs
Many medications come with recommended storage temperatures. Medication can be thrown away both because expiry dates are reached and because storage conditions are in doubt. When in doubt most people throw away expensive medication.
One study of the
economic impact caused by discarded insulin concluded that insulin wastage averaged as high as 34.1% in
hospitals in Ontario, Canada. This is a cost of $8,000 for the largest
hospital surveyed and translated to an estimated cost of $360,000 a year for this region alone. We know from personal experience that doubt
leads to waste.
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With Insulin Angel we can
confirm whether medication has been safely stored. We hope that by removing doubt, w can document this wastage and find ways to reduce it.
The Technology
Insulin Angel is built using relayr.io technology; a Berlin-based startup which provides easy tools to build connected products. The device communicates with smartphones using Bluetooth Low Energy.
The hardware is based on the design reference of the WunderBar, relayr’s development platform. We chose relayr’s solution because it’s the best. They designed everything from the chip to the servers to work seamlessly together.
The Insulin Angel Story
Each founder is either
a diabetic or father of a diabetic. We have personally experienced times when
we didn’t really know the temperature guidelines for our medication; we
certainly didn’t know if temperature limits were breached.
We decided to solve these problems by making a high quality temperature and proximity sensor, realising that most sensors weren’t good enough and none stored any medication data. We tried various sensors - the better ones, usually used in industrial installations, were big bulky and expensive. None of the lower cost ones were reliable enough to trust with our vital medication. And it certainly wasn’t possible to connect the devices to a simple app that would run on everyday smartphones.
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So, knowing about sensors and mobile technology we
decided to fix it, making an inexpensive, light-weight, accurate, reliable
solution. We made ease-of-use a must from the beginning; the device had to
connect wirelessly to any modern phone (iPhone 4S +, or Android 4.3+). And once
the medication is confirmed the App needed to know what the safe temperatures
for your medication. And that’s what we built.
We went the extra mile
and organised user testing with our local diabetes communities (which was how
the team met), sharing the idea or a test device with people suffering from
diabetes, rheumatism and asthma, and with medics themselves.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a common but serious health condition. The disease takes various forms which all result in sufferers being unable to properly metabolize carbohydrates. There is no known cure for diabetes today, so many sufferers (especially Type 1) rely on insulin injections using "pens" or pumps.
Modern Medicine made it possible for people with diabetes to live a normal life if they pay strict attention to measuring blood sugar levels and taking the right doses of insulin at the correct time. It is a stressful condition, and it makes something as simple as eating an apple into a complex exercise of testing, carbohydrate counting and injecting.
Some diabetes facts:
- In the USA around 29 million (more than 9% of the population) have diabetes.
- In the UK over 3 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes. Of these about 10% permanently and critically require insulin.
- Of children with diabetes, 96% have "Type 1" requiring multiple insulin injections on a daily basis.
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The annual cost of diabetes to the USA is estimated at $245 billion. Those with "Type 1" diabetes and some with "Type 2" need to ensure their medication is carefully looked after and never forgotten.
As insulin needs to be used and stored within specific temperature ranges, uncertainty over storage conditions can result in medicine being unnecessarily thrown away.
Risks & Challenges
Manufacturing an electronic product can be tricky, but we have our expert partner Pilotfish on board. They bring an hardened team of 40 engineers and designers, with experience working on Hansaton hearing aid holders, BMW’s Mini dashboards and world leading Native Instruments DJ controllers.
App development is handled by relayr who created Wunderbar and developed the firmware, electronics and iOS/Android SDKs. They are very familiar with this technology because they invented it!
With this capable and experienced team behind our product we have a clear picture of the road ahead. We undertake always to keep our backers and participants up-to-date with both pitfalls and achievements in our exciting journey to make Insulin Angel a reality.
Device FAQ
Which colors are available?
There will be three colors which our backers can help us choose.
How big is the device?
5 cm x 2.5 cm / 2” x 1” (inches).
How exactly do we measure temperature?
The sensor we use is accurate to +/- 0.5°C. This measures the ambient temperature surrounding the insulin and transmits it to the app.
How does the device connect with the app?
Bluetooth Low Energy. The device must be manually paired with the app the first time it is used. From then on it will automatically connect when within range.
Must the device stay near to the medication to work? If so, how near?
Yes, the device should be stored as close as possible to the insulin, ideally in the same case.
Can I manually adjust the safe temperature range?
Yes, either select a medication or enter the range manually by referring to your medication manufacturer’s guidelines.
Can children use the device?
We made Insulin Angel with parents and children in mind. Parents can receive notifications if their child is without their insulin. Please note that very young children should not use the device unsupervised, it may present a choking hazard.
What batteries does the device use?
CR 2032 coin cell
How do I change the battery?
The battery can be changed simply by opening the case.
Which other medications can?
Insulin Angel was devised with diabetes in mind, but it works just as well with other temperature sensitive medications that are easily forgotten.
Is the device waterproof?
No, but the device is splash-proof and can be placed inside a waterproof container if needed without affecting its function.
App FAQ
Which phones does the app work with?
Any Android or iOS phone which supports Bluetooth 4.0. This includes iPhone 4S and iOS version 7.0 or later. This includes Android 4.3 or later.
Will there be an app for Windows phones?
We do not have plans to develop for any devices except those running Android and iOS.
Is the app free?
Yes. We only charge for the devices.
Will you add more features as part of the development?
We have a couple of features we would like to test using your feedback including wastage reporting and reminders of expiry dates and tasks.
How big is the database?
Our medication database includes the 30 most commonly used insulins and some other medications, we are counting on the community to let us know about other medications that you would like to see included.
How does the app know whether my device is in a fridge or in a backpack?
When a device is first used, the app offers the option of monitoring insulin in storage or in use. This may be changed at any time.
How do you set up the app to know where your home and work is?
The app identifies Wifi networks related to your home and workplace. This minimizes unnecessary proximity alerts.
How does my parent or carer receive notifications?
Notifications to the diabetic rely on Bluetooth only. As long as both the diabetic and parent phone are connected to the internet, these notifications are forwarded to the parents app.
Will the app help me to locate my insulin?
The device contains a proximity sensor. It tells you when your insulin is nearby, but not exactly where it is.
At what distance from the device will the app alert me?
Approximately 20 meters
Medical FAQ
What other medication does it work with?
There are many examples, one being patients taking Humira for rheumatoid arthritis.
What if the app says the insulin is too hot or too cold, do I throw it away?
The manufacturer of your medication recommends storing it and keeping it within a certain temperature that includes a safety margin
What happens if I forget my insulin?
Once your phone exceeds a distance of approximately 20m from the Insulin Angel device it will receive an alert.
Do you have any medical backing?
We have presented our product to a number of doctors and pharmacists and the feedback we have had is overwhelmingly positive. Dr. Philip Unwin of The Hart Surgery: "This will be such a breakthrough" as "Reducing the anxiety of living with medical conditions is just as important for me in my job as the condition itself."
Indiegogo FAQ
If I select a perk, will the money be taken out of my account immediately?
Yes, but if the campaign fails to reach its goal you will be refunded in full.
What are the delivery costs?
Worldwide shipping costs are included in all perk levels, . Devices are shipped securely with tracking.
Do you ship to my country?
We ship to every country in the world.
Are you teaming up with any charities?
Yes, Access Afya is the first on our list, and you are welcome to recommend other charities, NGOs or health organisations who would benefit from donated Insulin Angel devices.
