[Diabetes-talk] "If Insulin Pumps Could Talk. (It's in the Works)"

Wed Jan 21 21:23:54 UTC 2015

Agree with you completely, Veronica.

I hope this works out well also but I am moved to wonder if either the
researchers or the pump manufacturer have any idea what they're getting into
or if they truly understand what's required.

I'll make some inquiries.

Mike Freeman

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Veronica Elsea via Diabetes-talk
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 12:55 PM
To: 'Eileen Scrivani'; 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] "If Insulin Pumps Could Talk. (It's in the
Works)"

I also had not seen this article. I just started snooping around again and
had quite a go-round over the Snap pump. I'm getting really tired of these
companies trying to tell me how much they're serving me because I can do an
audio bolus and have someone set it so it will deliver the same amount of
insulin for me each time. And by the way, they took away the keypad beeps
that they originally had on the pump. I'm glad they're cooporating with the
researchers but it's easy to do so when someone else is doing the work. I do
hope it turns into something and I'll certainly see how I can help, having
been on a pump for 24 years and really not wanting to go on MDI in the
future. But I'll get truly excited when it's cleared the FDA and I can have
it. <grin> Veronica

"Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now available on
iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide Dog Glee Club. 
To learn more, visit:
http://www.laurelcreekmusic.com
                Veronica Elsea, Owner
Laurel Creek Music Designs
Santa Cruz, California
Phone: 831-429-6407

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Eileen Scrivani via Diabetes-talk
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 5:17 PM
To: Everett Gavel; Diabetes Talk for the Blind
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] "If Insulin Pumps Could Talk. (It's in the
Works)"

Everett, 

Thank you for posting this.  I had not seen this article before. 

Eileen

From: Everett Gavel via Diabetes-talk
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 7:51 PM
To: diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Diabetes-talk] "If Insulin Pumps Could Talk. (It's in the Works)"

Haven't been keeping up well, so, sorry if this is old news here. But I
thought it might provide some points of contact to work with on getting this
done, y'know?

Blessings to Your Efforts,
Everett

If Insulin Pumps Could Talk. (It's in the Works) By MikeH on January 20,
2015 http://www.diabetesmine.com/2015/01/if-insulin-pumps-could-talk.html

Every day, I look at my insulin pump screen and push the buttons to give
myself the medication that keeps me alive. I'm lucky, because I can see what
I'm doing. But many can't. And with diabetes, I am afraid that someday, I
might become one of those folks who can't see well enough to use this
life-sustaining device that I've depended on for 
14+ years now.

Obviously, with diabetes being a major cause of creating vision problems,
many of us would be well-served by talking D-devices - now and in the
future.

That's why it's exciting to see a project at Michigan State University in
which a small team of student researchers are creating a voice chip that can
be installed in an insulin pump. At this point, the existing prototype uses
the Asante Snap pump, thanks to that California company being the main
backer of this research.

Four college seniors at MSU's Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering spent the past several months developing this solution for the
visually-impaired with diabetes. As of now, the voice chip simply reads off
whatever is displayed on the pump screen, but in the future they hope to
have full audio features incorporated. In December, the students finished
and published a 57-page report on the project.

If all goes as planned, the MSU student-led team hope to publish their
research in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology to help other
engineers design pumps or other medical devices for people with vision
disabilities.

"Their proof of concept helped uncover and address many design issues that
one will face in making pumping accessible to the visually impaired," says
Mark Estes, chief product architect at Asante. "We love the project, were
glad to support it, are in discussion with them on how to keep the ball
rolling, and most importantly we are very impressed by the team's output."

Stephen Blosser at Michigan State

A Call to Action

Surprisingly, the impetus for this project didn't come from any PWD (person
with diabetes), as there aren't any on the research team. The man leading
the charge is Stephen R Blosser, assistant technology specialist at MSU's
Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities. During his college days, he
used to volunteer with the state's Bureau of Services for Blind Persons and
has kept in touch with those advocates ever since, so when they reached out
about the need for more accessible devices for people with diabetes, Blosser
was quick to take action.

He doesn't have any personal connection to diabetes, but the stats were hard
to argue with, he says - approximately 40% of PWDs in the U.S. 
have some form of retinopathy, but as of now the insulin pump industry isn't
addressing that group.

He gathered four interested students for this project, and they reached out
to well-known CDE Gary Scheiner in Philadelphia, who helped connect them
with Asante. Here's how Scheiner tells us he
reacted:

"I loved the concept. That's what society is all
about: people with special skills/needs doing what they can to help others
who have their own special skills/needs. That way we all benefit from the
best of the best. I put the team in touch with Mark Estes at Asante
Solutions, makers of the Snap insulin pump. I've had an opportunity to work
with the developers for virtually every insulin pump manufacturer in some
capacity, and Asante really stands out to me as a company that is adaptive
and flexible to consumer needs/interests. Despite the fact that a project
like this probably won't help the company's bottom line, Asante is working
with the student team and making tremendous progress. 
We've never had an insulin pump that meets the needs of people with limited
vision, and there is a significant number of people within the diabetes
community who have visual impairment and would benefit from pump therapy."

Blosser tells us he also reached out to Medtronic about doing the same with
their Minimed insulin pumps, but never received a response from the company.

Asante agreed to participate and donated several insulin pumps and batteries
for the research, as well as other tools and tech support to help the
students understand what was going on inside the pump's controller.

"The students did the vast majority of the work," 
Estes tells us. "If there was a pie chart of who did what,  you would not be
able to see our slice. 
So, they deserve huge props for their work."

The Talking Pump

At the start, the researchers rejected both the ideas of adding Braille to
the buttons and also using Bluetooth to connect the pumps to smartphones for
the talking component - in part because some may not be able to fully feel
those buttons thanks to loss of fingertip sensation or lack of knowledge of
Braille, and also because of security concerns in sharing patient data via
smartphone. Instead, they opted to alter the buttons by connecting a
touchpad sensor to a speech chip inside, triggering the speech when the
button is pushed. So far, the group has come up with two possible
configurations for the pump hardware - one that has the voice feedback built
in, and a second that would have an add-on speaker module.

Blosser also created a colorful case to put the pump and add-on speaker
inside, for easier use.
By design, the pump would vocalize any
information - from the button you're pushing, to the dosing and carb
calculations you enter into the device. Blosser says some of the early
research was limited because they didn't modify the pump software, as they
were only working to make the device accessible. Going forward, the team
will expand that R&D to address the most "universally usable method for
operating an insulin pump" so that it can vocalize any information needed on
the device, and could be easily adopted by any pump manufacturer.

You can view a quick video demo of the talking pump going through some of
the basic button-push menu screens, with the audio being one of the research
students who recorded her own voice saying all of the commands and functions
to give it that "human element."

Blosser tells us they hope to finish an operating virtual pump by the end of
this Spring and then to conduct usability tests with blind or
visually-impaired users this Summer. But the timeline depends on funding, he
says, and the cost could be about $20,000.

"It would be my first priority to make this open source for any pump
manufacturer or even any general medical device designer to adopt. However,
Asante has sponsored the project thus far and we have signed nondisclosure
agreements (for their pump hardware). They should be given first choice of
adopting the design, and the option to patent any novel ideas," Blosser
says. "I feel that most of what we will do will not be novel but public
knowledge and not patentable. But this doesn't mean it's not valuable. Our
usability and research laboratory will probably be the place where the most
valuable discoveries will be made."

As to how this fits into Asante's pipeline, Estes tells us: "While this
project is laying the foundation for what we hope is broader access for all
users, there are no immediate plans in terms of implementation into
production that I can share."

Addressing a Blind Spot

Fellow PWD Matthew Deets
We'd bet that many D-Community living with visual impairments would be quite
excited at the possibility of access to a talking pump. In fact, one of our
past DiabetesMine Design Challenge winners who is legally blind did a video
a few years ago titled "Do Diabetes Technology Companies Have a Blind Spot?"

We also chatted with DOC friend Matthew Deets in Oregon, who lives with T2D
and is on multiple daily injections - and happens to be legally blind, being
born with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia
(ONH) in both eyes.

"I've always wanted to try pumping, but it's been out of the question for me
not only because of the accessibility issues, but because my insurance
company really basically doesn't cover pumping or CGM," Matthew says. "I
have always thought it's strange that insulin pump companies have not
included optional voice adaptation for accessibility in their equipment
because unfortunately complications relating to diabetes is one of the
leading causes of blindness worldwide. I witnessed this firsthand with a
relative of mine who has been an insulin pump user for years, but is losing
his eyesight and will most likely have to switch to MDI. On most pumps,
there's really no way for a visually impaired or totally blind individual to
make their own adjustments."

The idea of this talking insulin pump is something Matthew says is long
overdue and a needed tool, and he'd be interested in helping out as much as
possible.

Blosser says they're very interested in hearing from anyone in the
D-Community who has thoughts or insights to share on this project, or even
wants to help trial-test some of the developments. He
says: "This project is a chance for anyone who uses a pump to make
suggestions for improving its operation."

For our part, we definitely hope that Asante chooses to take on this
incredible research for its own device design, and that other device makers
are able to follow suit.

To learn more about the project, check out the details at Asante [link], or
reach out to Blosser and the research team at Michigan State [link].

This blog post, with links, can be found here:
http://www.diabetesmine.com/2015/01/if-insulin-pumps-could-talk.html

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