Project Title

An External Syringe Attachment that Eliminates Unwanted Insulin Cross-Contamination

Sponsors

The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance and the Penn State Institute for Diabetes and Obesity

Executive Summary

The American Diabetes Association estimates that diabetes costs the U.S. $174 billion per year, making good blood sugar management both a personal and a financial priority for many patients. However, many patients suffer from poor eyesight and poor motor control that cause them to incorrectly mix neutral protamine hagedorn (NPH) and regular insulins, resulting in incorrect pharmacokinetics and insufficient glucose control. Team Fail Safe has designed the InsulMix 100 for use with 100 unit insulin syringes that prevents accidental injection of NPH in the clear insulin vial. The design combines a clamp that prevents unwanted insulin mixing and an articulating slider that allows for smooth, precise movement of the syringe plunger. Together, the clamp and screw-slider design will provide more accurate dosing and a fail-safe cross-contamination mechanism.

Design Problem

Type 1 and many type 2 diabetes patients are dependent on insulin injections to maintain constant glucose levels. There are several different type of insulin formulations based on the pharmacokinetics or duration of action desired. Typically, patients must mix two formulations from different vials in a syringe before injection.

The patient must first draw up a volume of air equal to the volume of the first type of insulin and inject this air into the first insulin vial. Then, he draws up a volume of air equal to the volume of the second type of insulin that will be used. After this, he draws up the desired volume of the first insulin into the empty syringe and then draws up the desired volume of the second insulin into the same syringe. During this step, it is not uncommon that the patient may accidentally inject some or all of the first insulin into the second insulin vial. This causes cross-contamination of the two insulin formulations, resulting in poor dosing.

A more detailed description of the mixing process off which this summary is based can be found here.

Our task was to design a device that will attach to existing insulin syringes that will allow patients to draw up doses with more accuracy and eliminate unwanted cross-contamination.

 

Faculty Coach

Dr. Nadine Barrie Smith