{"id":6441,"date":"2010-04-02T08:00:56","date_gmt":"2010-04-02T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=6441"},"modified":"2015-12-31T04:47:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-31T09:47:00","slug":"interview-samantha-katz-diabetesmine-design-challenge-judge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=6441","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Samantha Katz, DiabetesMine Design Challenge Judge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Samantha Katz is the Grand Prize winner of the 2009 DiabetesMine Design Challenge<\/a>, and now Global Product Manager at Medtronic Diabetes<\/a>, where she’s working on the company\u2019s next-generation insulin pump.\u00a0 In June 2009 she received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management with majors in Marketing and Healthcare Enterprise Management, as well as a Master of Engineering Management with a major in Design from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University.\u00a0 This year she’s serving as a judge in the 2010 DiabetesMine Design Challenge,<\/a> which is open for submissions until April 30, 2010.<\/p>\n

Congratulations on being the last year\u2019s DiabetesMine Challenge Grand Prize Winner.\u00a0 Please tell us about your idea?\u00a0 How did you come up with it?\u00a0 Is there a diabetic in your family, or have you seen someone up close struggling with diabetes?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

LifeCase\/LifeApp is a combined hardware and software solution.\u00a0 The hardware component is an iPhone case that contains an integrated blood glucose meter, as well as an integrated lancing device with test strip storage.\u00a0 The software component is a concept for an iPhone app that controls the integrated meter as well as a pump and\/or CGM device if they are used.\u00a0 The app also contains an event log to track BGs, boluses, meals, and exercise, in addition to graphs that display historical sensor glucose.\u00a0 The idea is that with this app you could do everything that you can do with today\u2019s pumps and CGM devices, and theoretically it would work with any that are on the market.\u00a0 Combining the meter, pump and\/or CGM interface onto an iPhone and integrating a meter into the case allows users to carry just the single device, rather than juggle a separate meter, pump remote, and\/or CGM remote.\u00a0 In addition, moving the interface from the pump to an iPhone may mean that the pump can be made smaller, much like the patch pumps on the market today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Samantha Katz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My teammate and I came up with the idea after considering many concepts.\u00a0 We interviewed and observed people with diabetes to understand what their most critical needs were and then brainstormed ideas to meet these needs.\u00a0 One of the individuals interviewed was my teammate\u2019s mother, who is a type 1 and who kindly shared her challenges with diabetes with us.\u00a0 We showed our initial set of concepts to additional people with diabetes to get their feedback, refined and narrowed down our ideas, and then repeated this process a couple more times until we landed on LifeCase\/LifeApp.<\/p>\n

Over the last year, have you made any progress in bringing LifeCase & LifeApp to fruition?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We did an initial patent search and found that Medtronic actually holds a key patent we would need to commercialize our concept.\u00a0 This discovery, combined with the fact that my teammate and I were both finishing graduate school and starting new jobs, led to our decision to hold off on any further development.\u00a0 Our goal was to enter and win the contest, and we were proud to have achieved it.<\/p>\n

As a judge in the 2010 DiabetesMine Challenge, what kinds of things are you looking for?\u00a0 (And btw \u2013 is it exciting to be a judge?)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I will answer the second question first.\u00a0 I am thrilled to be a judge this year and see the exciting ideas that will be submitted!\u00a0 I love problem solving and thinking about how we can make diabetes as minimally intrusive as possible, and it\u2019s amazing to see how people from a wide variety of backgrounds tackle a common goal in different ways.\u00a0 I was so flattered and excited when Amy Tenderich<\/a> asked me to judge this year\u2019s competition.<\/p>\n

As a judge I am looking for three main things.\u00a0 First, I need to see your passion for your idea.\u00a0 Show me that you not only care about improving the lives of those with diabetes, but also that you truly believe in the viability of your idea.\u00a0 Second, I need to see that you have done your homework.\u00a0 The only way to believe in the viability of your idea is to test it.\u00a0 Get feedback from people with diabetes, doctors, diabetes educators, and caregivers.\u00a0 If you don’t know anyone personally, you could even approach a diabetes center or support group like we did.\u00a0 And third, I am looking for professionalism and polish.\u00a0 Show me that you have spent a lot of brain power thinking about and creating your submission.\u00a0 Take the time to make your video into something that can be sent around to diabetes companies and investors after the competition.<\/p>\n

You recently joined Medtronic\u2019s development team and are working on the next-generation pump.\u00a0 Can you tell us about that?\u00a0 What can we expect to find in the up and coming pump that doesn\u2019t exist in today\u2019s?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to join Medtronic and help develop the next generation insulin pump.\u00a0 In the next generation pump and other future products, you will notice features that are intuitive, simpler to use, adaptable to a user\u2019s specific needs, and more comfortable.\u00a0 Additionally, you will continue to see improved technology that leads to both improved clinical outcomes and a more convenient patient experience.\u00a0 Clinical research has shown that combining the components of insulin delivery, continuous glucose monitoring, and therapy adjustment allows patients to tighten glucose control and achieve an optimal clinical outcome; so we will continue to focus on these combined elements.<\/p>\n

Technological advances are very important and necessary, but so are advances in education \u2013 in helping people better understand diabetes, its causes, how to prevent it (in the case of type 2), and how to live a healthy life with it. Do you see a way of bringing technology and education together?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely.\u00a0 Between the internet, applications on mobile devices, and cloud computing the possibilities are endless.\u00a0 With these technologies people with diabetes can be constantly in touch with educational materials, their doctors, educators, and caregivers, and even each other to continuously build their knowledge base about therapy, share tips and best practices with each other, and maintain a safe and healthy lifestyle.\u00a0 I see the application of technology going far beyond the pump features, communication methods, and websites that we have today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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