New product for diabetics??

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jade pearson

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Relationship to Diabetes
Hi, I'm currently at university and we have been set a task to come up with a new and innovative product, our product is a sportswear item like a bra or vest that would have technology integrated in it that would test sweat and alarm the wearer when their blood sugars are getting too low. I am not diabetic myself and would appreciate any feedback that I could get about this product like, would it be useful/ is there anything I should consider when designing it/ is it a product that would actually benefit diabetics? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thank you,
jade.
 
@Northerner would look great in a bra he can be your model 😛:D
 
What sort of alarm or warning were you thinkg of? A colour change may not be noticed when in the middle of exercise, but incorporating an audible alarm, I would imagine, would make it difficult to have a garment you could just bung in the washing machine after use. Also, I presume it would be expensive, and if you exercise a lot, you'd have to have several bras/vests etc. ( plus extra expense in manufacturing because you'd need a range of sizes) Would it be easier and cheaper to have a wristband or headband that did the job?
I like the concept, though, anything that makes it easier to manage Blood Glucose while exercising ( especially on horseback when it's difficult to manage equipment) would be welcome.
 
There was a sports bra I was looking at that I cant remember the name of, but it was top end running one, designed just for running had fancy features. However it was about £60. I am not going to pay that much when I can pay half or less and get one that does the same job.

Plus as we live in this country, its not hot enough to just wear a bra, and a lot of women wouldn't run with their tummys out I agree with Robin that another wrist, head something would be more useful.

And the colour changing thing or a visual flag rather than noise alarm, I feel is better as a lot if people exercise with headphones and music.
 
The only comments I have relate to it changing colour.
1. If it's a headband you won't see it! Unless you are actually looking at the item, you'll miss the colour change as well
2. Colour change may not help those visually impaired.
An audio alarm would be better, but as Robin says this would be tricky to wash, unless it could be easily removed and reattached.
 
What about vibrating alarm rather than audio or colour? My Garmin vibrates at each mile so I can check my pace when out running 🙂 I'm sure such an alarm could be protected from the elements/being washed, or make it removable 🙂
 
Northerner said:
What about vibrating alarm rather than audio or colour? My Garmin vibrates at each mile so I can check my pace when out running 🙂 I'm sure such an alarm could be protected from the elements/being washed, or make it removable 🙂
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A vibrating bra!😛 Joking aside, why not a wristband or something similar? If it's a small item the cost could be small too. 🙂
 
Well isn't sweat, much like interstitial fluid, about 10 minutes behind your blood anyway? - so Robin could have fallen off her horse with the hypo before it would even tell her she was on the way down.
 
Most research on these sensors seem to be around some kind of adhesive patch which is self powered and communicates via bluetooth to your phone (like this:http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical...s-will-change-how-wearables-track-your-health)
Anything that is measuring sweat needs to be at the source of the sweat (the sweat glands). I cannot see a vest being able to collect enough sweat and not all of us wear a bra (sorry Alan your secret is out now😛).
I could envisage a garment, a bit like a shoulder holster for a gun being available with an internal pocket for the sweat detector (a bit like those tune electronics you get in Xmas jumpers), so that the device was held next to your armpit. This would be discrete and unisex.

Of course if you are in the pool swimming it all stops working.
 
Robin said:
What sort of alarm or warning were you thinkg of? A colour change may not be noticed when in the middle of exercise, but incorporating an audible alarm, I would imagine, would make it difficult to have a garment you could just bung in the washing machine after use. Also, I presume it would be expensive, and if you exercise a lot, you'd have to have several bras/vests etc. ( plus extra expense in manufacturing because you'd need a range of sizes) Would it be easier and cheaper to have a wristband or headband that did the job?
I like the concept, though, anything that makes it easier to manage Blood Glucose while exercising ( especially on horseback when it's difficult to manage equipment) would be welcome.
Click to expand...
As we study contour fashion which is lingerie, sports wear and swim wear it has to be a product to do with that, such as a bra or vest, we was thinking a vest as this is for both male and female. we was also thinking that there would be a chip in the vest at the back in the middle towards the lower/middle area as this area has a high sweat rate. The chip would link to an app on a phone or a smart watch maybe, which would then tell you when your sugars are to high/low. we was thinking that the chip could be possibly removeable which means that it does not have to be washed. Having a vest would also be easier for sizes rather than a bra i agree. Thank you for the response and please feel free to respond to this and tell us what you think about that, thank you, jade.
 
trophywench said:
Well isn't sweat, much like interstitial fluid, about 10 minutes behind your blood anyway? - so Robin could have fallen off her horse with the hypo before it would even tell her she was on the way down.
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yess i agree, this is what we are struggling on, we are trying to work that part out, thanks, jade.
 
PhoebeC said:
There was a sports bra I was looking at that I cant remember the name of, but it was top end running one, designed just for running had fancy features. However it was about £60. I am not going to pay that much when I can pay half or less and get one that does the same job.

Plus as we live in this country, its not hot enough to just wear a bra, and a lot of women wouldn't run with their tummys out I agree with Robin that another wrist, head something would be more useful.

And the colour changing thing or a visual flag rather than noise alarm, I feel is better as a lot if people exercise with headphones and music.
Click to expand...
hello, thanks for the response, i was thinking of a vest as this is for male and female, with a chip in the lower back area which detects the sugar levels in the sweat, this could link to an app on your phone which then alerts you of your sugar levels, a vibrating idea is good as well as an alarm. as i study contour fashion which is lingerie sports wear, swim wear, it has to be an item related which is why i think a vest will be most appropriate. Costs we are not sure on yet as we do not no the technoloigy. thank you, jade.
 
As a lady of a certain age I'm quite prone to sweating at times and think I might "flood" the sensor!!
 
jade pearson said:
hello, thanks for the response, i was thinking of a vest as this is for male and female, with a chip in the lower back area which detects the sugar levels in the sweat, this could link to an app on your phone which then alerts you of your sugar levels, a vibrating idea is good as well as an alarm. as i study contour fashion which is lingerie sports wear, swim wear, it has to be an item related which is why i think a vest will be most appropriate. Costs we are not sure on yet as we do not no the technoloigy. thank you, jade.
Click to expand...

Oh yes the phone thing is a good idea. Or blue toothing to like a fitbit type app, don't know if that's possible. I am not technical at all.
 
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