Managing Diabetes is Difficult. The condition requires constant attention, there are no breaks and it is especially difficult for teenagers who have just started managing the condition themselves. 371 Million people are affected by diabetes worldwide. This mock diary of a persona Sophie, summarises research conducted into the everyday struggles of diabetics. There is an incredible amount to remember each day and disorganised management of injections can lead to serious health problems.

The challenge was to develop a better way for patients to manage their condition through actionable information. The goal was to create an engaging connected delivery device without a battery, designed to seamlessly integrate into the user’s life.

The KiCoPen concept aims to reduce the burden of diabetes for the 371 million people affected worldwide – by making daily management of their disease an easier, more accurate task. The device captures the exact insulin dose delivered and wirelessly transmits the information to an associated smartphone app. It uses energy harvesting instead of a battery – the action of removing the injector cap powers the device.

The associated app seamlessly gathers data on blood glucose levels, activity and food consumption, and integrates it with insulin dosage. Local and cloud-based analytics turn the data into real-time actionable insights – helping the patient stay in control. KiCoPen allows the patient to be confident they are on track with their daily insulin regimen. This, in turn, improves the patient’s compliance and results in better glycaemic control – helping to reduce late-stage complications.

Eliminating the battery in KiCoPen gives greater design freedom to create a better user experience. It also means the injector can be more reliable, manufacturing and assembly effort is reduced, and the device can have a lower environmental footprint. It proves to manufacturers that such an innovative, low-cost design can be applied to pre-filled pens.