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3D printing can provide a solution to the problem of attaching a diabetic measuring device
We at 3D Activation are pleased that we were able to help bring a solution to an urgent problem for type 1 diabetics. It is a self-developed attachment for a blood glucose meter. This should fix a device that is sitting on it, which reads the measuring device and transmits the values to a smartphone and sounds an alarm if necessary. Traditionally, either kinesiotape or other types of patches or tapes have been used for this purpose, although each has not been ideal for some patients.
At this point we would therefore like to let a satisfied user have her say. At this point we emphasize that this assistance was provided free of charge and that we did not make any profit. This project was purely for charitable reasons.
“When our then 10-year-old daughter fell ill with type 1 diabetes a year and a half ago, it was immediately clear to us that the best possible therapy is most easily achieved with continuous blood glucose monitoring. Together with the doctors we decided on the freestyle libre. A sensor about two euros in size that sits on the skin and continuously measures the tissue sugar through a Teflon thread in the tissue.
Due to all the sport and the beginning of puberty, however, the nights were very unstable, so that we parents set the alarm clock three times a night to check our daughter’s blood sugar levels and to counteract any bad values. On difficult nights, this even meant that our daughter slept in the parents’ bed so that we could monitor her better.
This was neither for them nor for us parents tolerable in the long run.
So we started to inquire about the possibilities and decided on the Nightrider. A small device that is placed on the Freestyle libre and thus continuously sends the data to my daughter’s cell phone via Bluetooth. This data is sent to our parents’ mobile phones via an app. We can enter various alarms, which means that we get an alarm as soon as our daughter’s sugar levels are too low or too high. She can go on sleeping and we’ll take care of the therapy.
It’s not just that we no longer have to set an alarm clock three or four times a night, but that we’re simply no longer in this alarm position all the time and worrying about whether our own child is really doing well.
Unfortunately, it happens again and again that the nights are completely different, so this device is a huge relief and has greatly improved our everyday life.
Now we needed a good solution to fix this small device to the libre. Since our daughter was already struggling with a contact allergy to the insulin pump catheter patch and that of the Freestyle libre, we wanted to find a solution without an adhesive surface.
We came across a post in an internet forum for diabetics, where a sufferer himself offered the files for a 3D print of a bracket.
In search of a suitable 3D printer, we had a great phone call with Mr. Strohschein from 3D Activation GmbH in Wiesbaden.
Mr. Strohschein was very interested and immediately offered to support us free of charge.
It’s not primarily about the costs that we saved, but more about the understanding of what was shown to us on this sensitive issue, namely our daughter’s health.”
One of those affected told us about her experiences with her daughter’s illness and our 3D printing service.
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