Insulin Bottle Storage Unit With Magnetically Attached Supply Container

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The inspiration for the design of this Insulin Storage and Travel Container comes from our one team member’s experiences with diabetes. Ever since her diagnosis, her life has been significantly changed, and she is always looking for ways to make her day to day life easier while tackling the challenges that come with having a chronic illness. One of the struggles that diabetics face everyday is insulin storage. Since insulin needs to be kept in the refrigerator, storing numerous glass bottles can be quite cumbersome. Often the bottles will get lost on the shelves, roll around, or break because of the constant rearranging that happens every time you look for food. Another issue diabetics encounter is travelling with insulin. Not only are bottles more likely to break because of the the constant movement associated with transportation, but there are also very specific requirements for traveling with insulin. The insulin should be kept cold, but never frozen or in direct contact with something frozen, it’s temperature should never exceed 86°F, and insulin cannot be in direct sunlight.Our design is a way to safely store and transport insulin and other diabetic supplies. The design can hold up to three bottles at a time, and has a side attachment for other diabetic necessities. The side attachment features an easy access sliding top, secured with magnets. The walls of the container will hold a coolant gel to keep the insulin cold at all times, and also keep the insulin out of direct contact with ice; perfectly meeting the insulin’s extensive temperature requirements. The design not only keeps the bottles from getting seperated or breaking, which is useful for traveling, but also helps keeps track of and protect your insulin while it is stored in your refrigerator at home. The container allows you to transition seamlessly from storage in a refrigerator to on the go in any traveling condition. It’s also easily accessible, and features a magnet on its side so it can be safely attached to any magnetic surface. Also, something that most diabetics might not know is that insulin bottles should be stored on their sides, rather than upright. This makes storage in a refrigerator especially hard because of the cylindrical nature of the bottles. Our design, however, allows the bottles to be safely stored on their side without the risk of rolling around and breaking. Our never-before-seen container allows diabetics a break from the hassle of properly caring for insulin in everyday life and travel. The container helps diabetics avoid the issues that come with trying to store insulin in makeshift devices that don’t fit all of the requirements, and enables them to move their supplies quickly, safely, and without an effort from their refrigerator to wherever the need to go.Technical Description:The main assembly is the 2 parts: The insulin storage unit, and the supply holder.Insulin SupplyThe insulin storage unit is held together purely mechanically. The lid slides off and on,with small extrusions to hold it in place for easy removal of insulin bottles. The lidis cusomizable so that a diabetic can put their own name onto it. The insulin containeritself has a hole to put the coolant inside. The "cap" is a piece that can be glued ontothe part once the container is filled with coolant to prevent any leakage. There is also ahole for a magnet to be glued in, so that the units hold together easily and can also bestored by magnetizing a refrigerator (installing a metal plate on one of the walls), so that little to no shelf space is used.There are two files inside the folder that are 3D-printable. One with supports so that itcan be printed by a specialized printer which uses dissolvable support material. This modelis preffered, although for the competition we were not sure if this was allowed so we putsupports into the model to make it 3D printable by all printers.Supply Holder:The supply holder is a handy addition to the insulin storage unit specifically meant forshort trips such as weekend visits or sleepovers. This contianer has enough space insideto hold the minimum requirements for one set change. The part can be adjusted to have alarger storage capacity, but the idea was that it would be similar to an emergency kit, having enough supplies to prevent anything bad happpening in case of an emergency.Additional supplies would have to be brought for long trips.This holder has a very simple design. The lid rotates around an extrusion, and is held inplace by small magnets. These magnets would administer 1-2 lbs of force to hold the lid inplace while still allowing easy opening. There is also a magnet positioned at the top of the extrusion which the lid rotates around to provide a little more force making sure the top does not come off accidentally. That being said, the top can be removed for easypacking, making the design ideal for holding the supplies a diabetic needs.Just like the Insulin Supply Container, the supply holder also has a magnet on its side sothat they can be easily transported together, or stored on any magnetic surface.Alexander Kedzierski and Kira GousiosSchool: Academy for Science and DesignAdvising Instructor: Madge Smith