‘Glow’ to help keep diabetic children safe at night

Published On Wed 21 May 2014 by Grant Hill

A device that protects diabetic children from the dangers of nocturnal ‘hypos’ by continually monitoring their blood sugar level is one of the exhibits at this year’s Degree Show at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD).

Eilidh Price (22), originally from Glasgow, has had diabetes since she was a young child and has brought her experiences to bear on ‘Glow’, which she created in the final year of her Product Design degree programme at DJCAD.

Over 2000 children are diagnosed with diabetes every year, affecting not only the child but the entire family. At night, children may not recognise when their sugar levels drop suddenly meaning parents often have to wake them regularly to do blood tests.

‘Glow’ takes existing technology that continually monitors blood sugar levels to wake both child and parent when they drop during the night. As part of her research, Eilidh worked with family groups in Glasgow as well as with parents, children and doctors at Yorkhill Hospital. The final product project focuses on the child’s experience, using a soft glowing light and gentle music to wake them. Simultaneously, a text alert is sent to the parent’s phone.

Eilidh said, “It was important for me to think about the experience of the child as a way of helping both them and their parents. ‘Glow’ encourages the child to understand and participate in their own treatment and also reduces stress for everybody involved.

“Having grown up with diabetes, I had always thought about doing something related to it as part of my course and hopefully I will be able to help children going through same thing as I did. I have taken an existing device and created a unique way of using the data.

“At the moment, parents might have to wake their child three or four times a night to check their blood sugar level, which is obviously disruptive to everyone. The system I have devised gently wakens the child with a music box tune while the parents receive a text, which plays the same tune, to let them know the levels have dropped.

“Speaking to the children and their families, I identified different issues and problems that they face in managing a condition that can be quite frightening. Night-time hypos are a real problem for kids and it is vital to make sure their blood sugar levels remain okay throughout the night or to take action if they drop.”

Eilidh is now considering how to develop her product following graduation and is holding discussions with various organisations about how it could be used.

Hers is one of 245 exhibits at the DJCAD Degree Show, the city’s largest annual exhibition of art and design which remains open until Sunday, 25th May.

Students from all 11 undergraduate programmes are exhibiting the fruits of their labours across the two buildings and fourteen floors that comprise DJCAD, with every spare space exhibiting art and design. The show attracts thousands of visitors each year and is seen as a springboard for some of Scotland’s most exciting emerging artists.

DJCAD has a reputation as one of the leading art schools in the UK and many of its students go on to be world-renowned artists. Turner Prize winner Susan Philipsz and nominees David Mach, Louise Wilson and Luke Fowler are all DJCAD alumni, as are photographer Albert Watson, fashion designer Hayley Scanlan, film director David Mackenzie, video games pioneer Aaron Garbut and the late painter Alberto Morrocco.

The DJCAD Degree Show is one of the highlights of the city’s cultural calendar, attracting some 10,000 visitors each year and generating in excess of £1million for the local economy in the process.

It is part of the Ignite Dundee festival, which runs from 16-31 May and showcases the very best of Dundee’s creative talent.