95% of type 1 diabetes cases are diagnosed in childhood. This makes a vast amount of children dependent on parents or nurses for treatment. Why? Currently, there are no insulin pens designed for a child’s hand and no age-appropriate guidelines for how to rotate injection sites. But, what if we could give diabetic children a feeling of empowerment through self-treatment? And, what if we could do it with bee trails, solar systems and green aliens?
In an incredibly imaginative way, Mexican designer Renata Souza Luque has designed temporary tattoos and child-friendly insulin pens that guide kids through the process of daily insulin injection. While studying product design at Parsons School of Design, her cousin's six-year-old son Thomás was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Luque quickly noticed the obstacles kids face with this particular diagnosis.
“In the US alone, 208,000 youth under the age of 20 have type 1 diabetes.”
Type 1 diabetic children inject insulin around 3-5 times a day, and each time it’s crucial to rotate the injection site to allow for better absorption and avoid scar tissue. The key goal was to visually indicate where the child injected insulin earlier. This happens through an overall design language: black ink stays on the body, and coloured dots are removed with an alcohol pad before each injection. This serves a double function as it also ensures that the child disinfects the area when they remove it. After roughly 2-3 days, the tattoo will no longer have coloured dots, and the child will put a new tattoo somewhere else.
Thumy’s second component is a non-disposable insulin pen that, despite its function, is fun, imaginative and even changes colours! The shape is versatile and easy to control by a child as it can be grasped in different ways. The pen’s release dial is covered in thermochromic plastic, which means it changes colour when you touch it. This encourages the child to hold it in longer until the full dose of insulin is administered.
Designers: Renata Souza Luque - Mexico
UN SDGs: Good health and well-being & Gender equality
Thumy from The Index Project on Vimeo. Music: Lee Rosevere
