Day 7

November 7, 2007

Haley Barrs
Brad Bostwick
Lindy Dugger
Allison Johnson
Hyong Ji (Julia) Kim
Allan Lansche
Hammy Mercer
Rejon Noah
Jeremy Rowland
Nicole Sanhamel
Steven Savage
Blake Williams

After realizing that the PDA for diabetes already exists, we changed our product back to how it was before. We decided to make it similar to a watch/band with easy size adjustments to wear on different parts of the arm. We decided it would be best if this device has micro needle technology that reads glucose levels in the body. The needles would be inserted in the back of the face of the band. We found out that the needles used in micro needle technology can be very itchy. In order to prevent users from a long period of discomfort, needles will only inject into the skin at designated periods of time. Users would be able to program Insulend to monitor their glucose at different time intervals throughout the day.

If glucose levels got too high or too low in the body, the band would notify emergency contact via blue tooth technology. The users would be able to set up the preference order of who to call in case of an emergency. If levels are dangerously high or low, Insulend would be programmed to check the patients levels on a more constant interval until their body came back to normal levels.

We also decided to add more information to our web site regarding information about diabetes and the types of people who have it. We want people to be able to come to our website to understand more about diabetes and how our product will help prevent it from worsening.

We had some difficulties determining the price of the product. If we put the product on the market at a really low price, we would not profit from it. We also did not want to make the price of the product ridiculously high, because we want patients to have the means to obtain it. We are thinking about setting the price at $99.95. The average price of current diabetes aids ranges from $20-$70. However, these products do not have Bluetooth or micro needle technology.

Because people are only likely to buy this product one or two times in the course of their life, we had to think of ways to make money more often. Users would have to go to a check up twice a year to replace their needles. This is more convenient than the current replaceable need of needles, which is about every month. We will also have bands of different colors and sizes available for sale, similar to cell phone colors. Users could purchase bands that match their tastes and outfits.

((I also got the chance to talk to Amber, just to let you all know.))

Day 6

October 17, 2007

Attendance:
Haley Barrs
Brad Bostwick
Jamie Burns
Allison Johnson
Hyong Ji (Julia) Kim
Allan Lansche
Hammy Mercer
Rejon Noah
Jeremy Rowland
Nicole Sanhamel
Steven Savage
Blake Williams

Today the group decided to change our product. We decided to take away the injection of the Bluetooth technology into the body. Some people thought it would be too complicated to include this element so we decided to simplify our product. Now it is just a PDA Bluetooth device that has internet access. (This might change). It can also connect by wireless to fast food restaurants that have wifi. The user is able to type in the specifics of food they are eating and receive feedback about the healthy levels of consumption.

Because of the elimination of the Bluetooth injection, the product will now be available at a cheaper price. We are going to do more research on the price of PDAs next time, but we were thinking of selling it somewhere in the range of $50-$100. It is going to be available in different colors for personal preference and little kids.

Shamp came to talk to us for a little while and told us not to ignore the challenges. We have to discuss the problems with our products. We also should select a devil’s advocate to ask questions to help figure out the problems. We do not have to have the specifics of how the product actually works but just the main idea. We need to get technical but not too technical.

We also broke down the topics for discussion on our power point slides.

-explain diabetes and how many people it affects

- explain the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes

-show examples of people who have it (celebrities, not just normal or overweight people).

- different books and supply and cost

- show our product and price

- explain how our device works

- website our product is located on and chat application

We also started talking about ideas for our advertising campaign. Then we talked about the possibility of a GSM chip and an educational video.

--Nicole--

Day 5

October 12, 2007

Attendance:
Haley Barrs
Brad Bostwick
Jamie Burns
Hyong Ji (Julia) Kim
Allan Lansche
Hammy Mercer
Rejon Noah
Jeremy Rowland
Nicole Sanhamel
Blake Williams

Today we discussed how we are going to go about building the website. Some people wanted to have an actual functioning site, but others just wanted to do an imitation site to get the idea across. We unanimously decided that each product of Insulend should have its own serial number and access id code for the website. We would like to develop a functioning website with the ability of a chat application.

The chat application would help diabetes patients unite and feel less alone. They would be able to share their feelings and express their thoughts and opinions about Insulend. The fact that Insulend is incorporated into blue tooth technology allows increased possibilities for development of the product in the future. The firmware is upgradeable for future additions and updates to better the product.

--Nicole--

Day 4

Attendance:
Haley Barrs
Brad Bostwick
Jamie Burns
Lindy Dugger
Kyle Dunaway
Allison Johnson
Hyong Ji (Julia) Kim
Allan Lansche
Hammy Mercer
Jeremy Rowland
Nicole Sanhamel
Steven Savage

Today we talked about the website for Insulend. One of our group members already created a website layout for us. However, he decided he wanted to get voted out of our group to join another group L. He did say he would still work with us and help us out when we needed him. The website will have the product information, and also a place to buy the product. There will also be a blog ability and a chat group for users.

We also talked about what type of medium we would use for our product. We decided we would just be selling a blue tooth chip that could integrate into any technology that was able to use the blue tooth application. It could be compatible with ipods, cell phones, mp3 players, etc. Because of the increasing technology in our lives, we need to have it be compatible with every type of new technology as well as the ability to incorporate into some of the old.

We also want the price of Insulend to be fairly cheap for those with and without insurance. We believe that medical costs should be affordable for those who are unfortunate to have this and other conditions. It is hard enough to live with diabetes, so we want to make it as easy as we can on patients by reducing the cost.

Nicole

Day 3

Attendance:
Haley Barrs
Brad Bostwick
Jamie Burns
Lindy Dugger
Kyle Dunaway
Allison Johnson
Hyong Ji (Julia) Kim
Allan Lansche
Hammy Mercer
Rejon Noah
Jeremy Rowland
Nicole Sanhamel
Steven Savage
Amber Stahl
Blake Williams

Today we started off by talking about possible product names. We decided on calling our product Insulend. Then we talked about where we would sell our product. We decided that we should make an online website where the product could be researched and purchased. We also thought that health care magazines should have advertisements for Insulend, along with the website. Health care providers should also sell the product and have the abilities to explain its usefulness to users.

Currently, the devices needed to maintain diabetes can be expensive and somewhat of a hassle to obtain. The refills for the tubs cost an average of around $1000 a year and this can be very expensive for patients, especially those without health insurance. Users also have to order products ahead of time because it takes about a month to receive them in the mail. One group member said she ran out of her product during Christmas time and was without it for about two whole months. Users need to plan out when they need to purchase more insulin tubes so they don’t run out in time of need.

We thought it would be important to prevent this so that a diabetes patient would never be without their medication. We also came up with the idea of a one-time injectable chip. This would be a tiny chip that would be able to detect the glucose and carbohydrate levels in a person’s body. It would also be able to create a proper diet and exercise plan uniquely designed for each person. It would tell the person how much exercise they could do without it being too stressful.

This chip would put everything into one place. It would be more convenient and assessable than the diabetes products today. Insulend would also be more efficient and user friendly for everyone. The website will be a membership website where the user will have a special access code they can find on the product after purchase. We don’t think everyone should be able to have access to this site. It would be named myinsulend.com and users could chat with each other about their usage and concerns with the product. We think it would be nice for them to have easy access to other diabetes patients so users don’t feel as alone.

We ended out group meeting talking about how we would advertise our product. We decided it would be best to advertise in hospital and health care magazines. One member also brought up the idea of putting inserts into similar packaged products. We also talked about the fact Insulend would notify the user and their doctor when fluid levels got too high or too low in the body. The doctor would also have on call availability to give the user advice and consolation in their time of need.

We decided this chip could be compatible with many different devices (with Bluetooth). It would also be in different shapes and colors for personalization.

Nicole

Day 2

Attendance:
Haley Barrs
Brad Bostwick
Jamie Burns
Lindy Dugger
Kyle Dunaway
Allison Johnson
Hyong Ji (Julia) Kim
Allan Lansche
Hammy Mercer
Rejon Noah
Jeremy Rowland
Nicole Sanhamel
Steven Savage
Amber Stahl
Blake Williams

We started today off by calling role. Then we discussed our findings over the past weekend. Each group member had a chance to talk and contribute their ideas. One member thought it would be helpful to have a device that would take pictures of food and send them to a nutritionist. From there, the nutritionist would look at the pictures and respond back with a proper serving size for the types of food consumed. We decided this would be good for a long term approach if the person commonly ate the same things.

Another group member also brought up the idea of a watch device that could detect amounts of bodily fluids. There is currently an invention like this on the market. It works by a needle like injection into the skin which is covered up by the watch. We thought it would be a good idea to have the watch come in different colors so that kids and customers would be happier with the option of personal preference. There is also a tattoo product that detects bodily fluids in a similar way.

We think its highly important to have a device that effectively measures glucose levels and bodily fluids because of the diabetic risk of kedoesodis. This is a process in which the whole body shuts down because the body has too much sugar. The person dehydrates and throws up non-stop. This is when the body releases keytones because of the excess amount of sugar and the person usually has to go to the bathroom a lot.

There is now also a problem with young girls developing diabelimia. These girls let their blood sugar run really high and then their body lets them release keytones which in turn causes them to lose weight. This is very unhealthy and a matter of great concern.

We also discussed the idea of a pacemaker that attaches to the heart. We thought it might be a good idea to develop a device that attaches to the pancrease for diabetes. The idea of scorpion venom was also brought up. It would be carefully injected into the pancrease because it would be deadly if it got into the bloodstream.

Kids these days are self-conscious about their appearance. They are often ashamed of the image of using odd devices while other kids do not have to. It would be helpful to have something that kids would not be embarrassed to use. We also thought of the idea of having a green and red zone so it would be easy for kids to read.

It would also be nice if more restaurants provided monitors online that lets you know exactly how much of what is in each food. Subway is a restaurant that currently provides this service. Carbs, illness, and pregnancy make blood sugar rise. It would be useful to take these individual characteristics into account.

We thought that the best device overall would be a universal monitoring system that could take pictures and/or send text messages. It would have something like an electronic book that would be user friendly and have internet access. The user could input whatever they are eating and the data base would spit back out the correct serving size and appropriate amount to eat. It would also tell the user the amount of carbs and sugars in each food. This device would calculate the math for you and also send a text message to the person and their doctor when sugar levels and got too high or too low. It would also help to have a device that would give a specific diet plan to each person. Maybe this device could be something like an iphone...

<3 Nicole

Day 1

Attendance:
Haley Barrs
Brad Bostwick
Jamie Burns
Lindy Dugger
Kyle Dunaway
Allison Johnson
Hyong Ji (Julia) Kim
Allan Lansche
Hammy Mercer
Rejon Noah
Jeremy Rowland
Nicole Sanhamel
Steven Savage
David Werner-Sexton
Amber Stahl
Blake Williams

Today we all introduced ourselves and stated our majors. We also passed around a roll sheet with our email addresses. Then we started a discussion about various chronic manageable conditions on which we could potentially use for our project topic. Some of our ideas were asthma, aids, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and psoriasis.

After a few minutes we came to the decision to do diabetes because Mr. Shamp seemed pretty excited about it! We also have a group member who has diabetes so we thought it would be helpful to get some inside information.

Some of the people in our group did not know a whole lot about diabetes so she told us all about it and what she has to do each day to maintain it. When the amount of insulin gets too high or too low it can be hard to read on the monitor. Inhaled insulin and blister packs (powder) are currently some ways that diabetes is controlled.

The group decided it would be a good idea to have a device that could monitor blood sugar levels constantly. We also thought the idea of an electronic book would be helpful as well. One of the members mentioned a bluetooth heart monitor. This device texts the patients hospital if they are about to have a heart attack. It does this by measuring electrical impulses from the heart and creates an ECG. We were also thinking we could use this same technology for diabetes.

We also discussed the fact that diabetes is not only treatable, but preventable as well. An increasing number of little kids are developing type 2 diabetes due to obesity at a young age. If parents and teachers inform children about diabetes and the obesity epidemic from a very young age, it should very well decrease the number of these cases in the future.

<3 Nicole