Someone is diagnosed with Diabetes every 2 minutes. And, according to the NHS, over 50% of people with Diabetes use a medical device to manage their condition!
Despite regularly working on a variety of medical device design, development & engineering projects, there are always improvements to be made and taking the time to really understand user needs is a crucial piece to the puzzle. Through our network of consultants, clinicians, partner universities and clients, we aim to engage users as early as possible in the design & development process. This helps us uncover valuable insights and use human factors engineering (HFE) to improve patient outcomes.
In light of Diabetes Week, we spoke to Chris Harrison, who has been living with Type One Diabetes for over 40 years to learn about the role that medical devices play in his Diabetes Care:
My name is Chris Harrison, I am 52 years old and was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes when I was 12, so have been living with it for 40 years! I am a Cycle technician part time, a keen cyclist & petrol head in my spare time, whilst being very active within the car club/meets scene.
I currently use the Abbott Care Freestyle Libre Glucose Monitoring System after buying it privately for a period, whilst petitioning with local MP’s and my GP surgery to finally get it on prescription. From this device I roughly get 20 scans per day. The information it gives is a game changer in managing my diabetes mainly because it is working 24/7, whereas past systems I have used, such as the traditional finger prick method, only give a snapshot of the condition at the point in time the prick is done.
In addition to the fact it is monitoring my blood glucose levels 24/7, I also like that the system can be a complete package with optional alarms and reports to help monitor trends. This real-time monitoring and extra information can also be shared with my support team so they can monitor my diabetes and provide appropriate advice and care without the need for lengthy face to face visits.
Infographic on Access to Diabetes Care by the International Diabetes Federation for World Diabetes Day
The device isn’t currently readily available on prescription and there can be a bit of a postcode lottery as to who can get it and who can’t due to the cost of each device – it took me 12 months of letters to MPs etc. to obtain a prescription, yet if I had lived 2 miles down the road, in a different county, I would have got it immediately. Due to this, many people with diabetes such as myself have to pay a high amount both emotionally and physically to get this level of diabetes care. Before mine was on prescription, it cost me £50 per sensor which is supposed to last 2 weeks, however, as I will come on to, sometimes you can get through them a lot quicker so the costs can soon add up dramatically.
As an active person, at both work & socially, it is very easy to knock the device off. Due to my prescription only covering 2 per month, any issues like this that cause me to run out meaning I can suddenly be left with no device to manage my diabetes, or have to pay an unexpected high cost for more (managing diabetes without it is like trying to drive with your eyes shut!!).
Whilst the device is fantastic for real-time monitoring and reporting back to my support team, I can only use either my phone or the Libre machine to scan & not both so there is no back up. I do get frequent ‘unable to scan’ problems, probably twice a day, so there are still some improvements to be made on the reliability.
I get excellent support from Burtons Diabetes Centre & my GP with frequent check-ups etc. There is always someone available to give help & the Diabetes Centre are very quick to offer new equipment that they believe will improve my management of diabetes when it becomes available. My main piece of advice would be use / stay in touch with your back up team & GP, be open to trying new things as the technology is changing at a rapid rate. Manage your Diabetes, don’t let it manage you!!
Here at HD, we often work on blood glucose monitor and drug delivery device projects so Chris’s insights will be extremely valuable to current and, future device development projects. Get in touch to discuss how we can help you with your product or medical device development.
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