The EasyMeasure SyringeAutomated Syringe Dosing

DeLorme, J.J., Hanson, E.E., Weisshaar, C.L., Wentland, A.L.

Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of Wisconsin – Madison

Advisor: Willis J. Tompkins, Ph.D.

Background/Motivation

Many diabetes patients use syringes on a daily basis to inject insulin

For diabetes patients with vision problems and neuromuscular disorders It becomes difficult to

read the volume of fluid on the syringe set the syringe’s plunger to the correct dosage Draw/inject the plunger at a steady rate (preventing air

bubbles)

Current products

Insulin pumps (Minimed) [1] Costly (~$5,000) Must be worn constantly and

programmed Autoject2®-Owen Mumford [2]

Assists in injecting, not dosing

Nordisk Novopen® [3] Requires some dexterity to

set the dosage correctly Uses only one type of insulin

The EasyMeasureSyringe

Motor

KeypadDigital

Display

Syringe

Cost Comparison

 Cost:

Insurance CompaniesCost:

Patient

Pump $5,000 $0

Novopen® (6 pens) $80+ ~$13

The EasyMeasureSyringe

$100-300Potentially

$0

[1] [4]

[5]

Market of Personal Care Products

“The development of in-home medical technologies, substantial cost savings, and patients’ preference for care in the home have helped make this once small segment of the industry into one of the fastest growing in the U.S. economy.”

Career Guide to Industries, Bureau of Labor Statistics [6]

Market: >65 years In 2002, 12.4% of population was >65 [7]

12.4% of the population accounts for 40% of the annual healthcare costs [7]

By 2020, this age group is expected to climb to 17% of the population [8]

Diabetes and obesity

on the rise [9]

[10]

Market: Diabetes/Parkinson’s Patients

Parkinson’s Disease:1% of those >65

[12]

Diabetes:18.4% ofthose >65 [11]

Over 65:12.4% ofUS pop.[7]

Marketing towards Doctors & Insurance Companies Doctors are a major influence on patients’ purchase

of products and services Increases dosing accuracy Strong alternative to insulin pumps Easy-to-use keypad and easy-to-see digital display

Insurance companies pay for >80% of products [13] Cheaper than insulin pumps Novopens, >$80, need refills and are more costly than

The EasyMeasure Syringe Savings over the long term

Introducing our Product to the Market

FDA: Class I device [14]Fewer restrictions than Class II/III devicesMay be approved more quickly

Present poster at a conference Interface with doctors and professionals and

compare device to existing products American Association of Diabetes Educators American Diabetes Association

Manufacture

Easy to manufactureCustom Parts

Casing via injection molding Circuit

All other parts are available for purchase Potential manufacturability conflict

There are motors small enough for this application

However, smaller motors may have too little torque

Conclusions

Beneficial to diabetes patients, especially with poor eyesight and/or poor motor skills

Affordable and advantageous alternative to current products

Competitive in the market Attractive to doctors, patients, and

insurance companies

References [1] Medtronic. MiniMed. http://www.minimed.com/. 2004. [2] Owen Mumford. Autoject 2: Self injection made simpler…http://www.owenmumford.com

/autoject2.html. 2004. [3] Novo Nordisk. NovoPen® 3 – An unsurpassed range.

http://www.novonordisk.com/diabete s/public/insulinpens/novopen3/default.asp. 2004. [4] Midbon, Missy. Diabetes patient interview. 9/10/04. [5] Haist, Doug. Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease patient interview. 10/06/04. [6] Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industry Employment. Winter, 2000. [7] Healthcare Products & Supplies Industry Survey: Industry Trends. Standard & Poor’s

Industry Surveys. Sept. 23, 2004. [8] US Census Bureau. Percent Distribution of the Population by Age: 1990 to 2050.

http://www.census.gov/prod/1/pop/p25-1130/p251130b.pdf. 2005. [9] World Health Organization. Obesity and Overweight. http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/

gs_obesity.pdf. 2005. [10] International Union of Nutritional Sciences.

http://www.iuns.org/features/obesity/tabfig.htm. 2005. [11] American Diabetes Association. National Diabetes Fact Sheet.

http://www.diabetes.org /diabetes-statistics/national-diabetes-fact-sheet.jsp. 2005. [12] Center for Disease Control. National Center for Health Statistics: Data on Parkinson’s

Disease. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/factsheets/Parkinsons.pdf. 2005. [13] Puccinelli, John. Biomedical engineering Ph.D. student and diabetes patient interview.

2/4/05. [14] Food and Drug Administration. Device Classes. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/devadvice/

3132.html. 2005.