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• updates

  Bethany • 03/30/2018 at 16:34 • 0 comments

  "I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work." 

  -Thomas Edison

  Honestly I knew many biosensors take decades of research,  I didn't expect mine to be great, but stupidly I thought it might -- like a lightbulb--obviously just pass or fail and It did not, so far calibrations attempted and/or equipment have lots of error....

  • Just beginning to realize the depths of uncertainty involved
  • I need a controlled testing method because currently I am juggling too many variables 
  • I need to fix the calibration probably with more research and data collection (understand the relation to both BG and the Medtronic Guardian 3 data)
  • I want to buy better thermistors and rebuild the ear piece
  • Contemplating the significance of blood flow/ heart rate and if I should add a sensor for it 
    • (bad data seems to worsen or become more irradic around heart rate changes and higher BGs) 
    • Need more data

  Between my own inexperience, inexpensive sensors, irregular blood sugars (lifestyle) I have not made much forward progress but I'm still slowly steadily trying.

• DD Day (personal)

  Bethany • 01/13/2018 at 23:31 • 0 comments

  January 13, 1999

  I was smart adorable thumb-sucking  3 year old with big blue eyes blonde ringlets and current dream job of fairy princess. On January 13, 1999  I learned I was going to do that (and everything) with diabetes, I was still me but I needed medicine, I needed a minimum of 5 (bleeding) finger pokes and 4 shots everyday forever... or until there was a cure for diabetes.  

  My parents, dad a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon and mom Pediatric  Nurse Practitioner were sad but ready for the burden that is having to inflict shots upon a child who really doesn't want them because they need it to be healthy (1 would hold me still while the other gives the shot) both apologizing and explaining and soothing.

  So at the young age of four I absorbed the concept of a chronic medical condition, the shots=forever and necessary (assuming I like eyes and toes fully functionally), and as I watched my dad draw the insulin from the vile to syringe  I looked into his eyes and said "I do it myself daddy"  and with his help I did as a 4 year old! 

  For years I JDRF walked for the cure and wondered why we weren't doing better... 

  In Second grade we were required to invent something and I wanted to make diabetes better so I invented a device that would say how much insulin I needed given my bg and exchanges (15g carb approximates for food) for any meal,  the inner layer was a table with top row being blood sugar and the outer layer being a sleeve to only show one layer at a time and labeling the column 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, etc and the inner layer would slide back and forth and given 2 inputs bg and carbs output units of insulin so I could calculate and draw up my shots with a quick parental check as opposed to the previous dependency on doing and waiting for an adult to do math like 4*15/12 +(200-130)/35 (and that's an easy one = 5+2=7)

  In 6th grade I used my first CGM and realized all the annoying diabetes advice like know exactly what you want to eat do shot for it then wait at least 20 minutes then eat that exactly that many carbs  are right  inescapably annoying and inconvenient but still right for preventing spikes and highs and lows. Oh also learned that they itch and hurt (only slightly) but constantly and frustratingly. 

  In 8th grade I switched to the pump. to this day I hate being wired up but being able to cover spontaneous snacking is wonderful and adjustable basal rates can have better HBA1c results (assuming compliance and that is hard to maintain through highshool and college) 

  in my Junior year of college I was introduced to  the "We Are Not Waiting" movements to hack diabetes and wanted to contribute .... have little to add I started research existing research. And now I have a Mechanical engineering degree, computer science & robot programming experience, and a Controls engineering position. I became an engineer because I to make the world (mine and others) a better place and to find smart people to help me do that.

  I am strong fighting diabetes daily, I like being an inventor, I like having good data, I like having good results, and mostly I want to change the world. I would like to help significantly improve diabetes management and if possible aid "the cure". 

   The key to that (for me now) is more data without needles --> less pain& less waste & less cost

• request for inventor approval

  Bethany • 01/12/2018 at 02:28 • 0 comments

  I sent another message through linked-in, hoping for an approving response

• Idea 1

  Bethany • 01/12/2018 at 01:56 • 4 comments

  I stumbled on an article titled " The Non-Invasive Glucose Monitor No One Wanted (?)"   https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/the-non-invasive-glucose-monitor-no-one-wanted#4 back in late August 2016 (my senior year and almost cried thinking that exactly what I want .

  I was even more impressed by the patent https://www.google.com/patents/US20050043603  

  I sent Larry Ishler a linked in Friend request which he accepted in September 2016, and I was super excited only to have no reaction to any of my messages to date.

  Thus to avoid violating patent laws I can't "make", "use", or "sell" and may have to delete this blog eventually but I am currently doing my best to be working under the research exemption (given it is a medical product idea that was not actualized and marketed) .

  I begin with this as a first foundation because it seems simple, beautiful, and inexpensive.

       simple concept: temperature differential in the ear--> bg.  

  beautiful:  it could resemble earbud headphones wired to a medium sized hip mounted device

  inexpensive:  (assumes arduino Uno kit ) needs 2 thermistors and a way to hold them in the ear
  

  Future alternatives and upgrading options will likely come from other patents discussed within "

  The Pursuit of Noninvasive Glucose: “Hunting the Deceitful Turkey”  

  http://www.mendosa.com/The%20Pursuit%20of%20Noninvsive%20Glucose,%20Fourth%20Edition.pdf

  Because it is a great compilation of great ideas.

  I hope to potentially contribute to that field and yet remain unique in not striving for replacing but merely supplementing glucose data for those kids (like younger me) who will be able to see how implementing tedious endocrinologist recommendations (doing diabetes right) makes better graphs, encouraging from the beginning better health for better life, and adults like me to continue managing the chronic condition to the best of our abilities daily too.

• Intro

  Bethany • 01/01/2018 at 20:36 • 0 comments

  1 January 2018

  I think good diabetes management is easier with more data and while CGMs are continually improving the ones are the market are usually unpleasant (weird bumps with needles and held on with tape), short lived (might rip out immediately or last just over a week) and are always expensive (the quality expensive sensors once inserted become immediately trash). So I am researching and designing a way to get more data on blood sugar trends between finger prick noninvasively (no needles/surgery), cost effectively by eliminating the per use costs (lancets, strips, sensor half of cgm, etc) and nearly permanently reusable.

  Disclaimer I am using some patented information (because I am not smart enough to reinvent the wheel and build the car) so in order to remain legal I am trying to be careful to be working within research that could lead to new inventions

  I think the distinctions of being:

      (1) not designed to replace finger pricks

      (2) cheap -- inexpensive at acknowledged risk of lower quality

      (3) a way to get continuous/frequent graphable data

      (4) a non-painful long term CGM tool for helping understand HBA1c

  will be enough to distinguish this project and separate it (drastically from what is available on the market) from the patents researched.

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