In Focus
Profile Amy Tenderich: a trailblazer for diabetes innovation
Published Online October 9, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2213-8587(15)00383-6 For more on e-patients see http://e-patients.net/ about-e-patientsnet For DiabetesMine see http://www.healthline.com/ diabetesmine For the open letter to Steve Jobs see http://www.healthline. com/health/diabetesmine/ innovation/open-letter-stevejobs For more on robots and type 1 diabetes see In Focus Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2015; 3: 844
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Amy Tenderich was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2003. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to improve diabetes care. “I’ve become something of a poster child for e-patients with diabetes”, she chuckles, referring to those patients who take an active role in their health and health-care decisions. And after speaking with her, it is easy to understand why. It is difficult not to be overcome with the same passion and drive for change that Amy has for diabetes care. After her diagnosis, Amy describes searching the internet for information. “This was before social media. I felt isolated and was confused about what I should be paying attention to. There wasn’t much real-world information for patients with diabetes.” Driven by this lack of information, she became one of the first people in the world to start her own diabetes blog in 2005, DiabetesMine, covering information about diabetes treatments and life issues from the patient’s point of view—she refers to it as her “gold mine of informational nuggets”. Her blog became hugely popular with patients and industry alike, with more than 120 000 visitors per month, and has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Sharecare/American Diabetes Association distinction of “number one diabetes influencer site in the country”. As a technology journalist and a patient living with diabetes, Amy is uniquely placed to be a conduit between the technology industry and the patient world. And taking matters into her own hands, in 2007, she penned an “open letter to Steve Jobs” on the occasion of the hundredmillionth iPod being sold. “At the time, medical devices for diabetes didn’t hold a candle to consumer technology, and while consumer technology was becoming more nano and portable, diabetes devices were still clunky and hospitallike”, she explains. Her letter asked Jobs to help redesign diabetes devices, such as the insulin pump and continuous monitors, to make them more desirable and customisable. “That letter went viral”, Amy explains. “Although there was no response from Apple itself, I was contacted by a design firm called Adaptive Path in San Francisco who were looking for a pro-bono project and thought this was fascinating!” Amy worked together with Adaptive Path, and they interviewed several hundred other people living with diabetes, and from this process, a prototype device called the Charmr was born. “It was unlike anything out there”, Amy recalls. “It was a small compact device that would serve as a combination controller for an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, with a colour touchscreen and a hoop so you could wear it like a charm on a necklace or a keychain.” Around the same time, Amy received funding from California HealthCare Foundation and worked with the prominent design company IDEO to start an international
crowdfunding competition called the DiabetesMine Design Challenge. “This was the first time that someone issued an open call: whoever you are, if you have a great idea for a device that could improve life with diabetes, then we want to hear about it”, she says. “We ran the competition for 4 years and received hundreds of submissions from around the world.” She fondly remembers one particular submission—Jerry the Bear with Diabetes—which won in the most creative category in 2009, and actually went on to become a successful product, a very useful educational toy for children with diabetes. “Another prominent idea from the competition was having an iPhone as the interface for the glucose monitor and insulin pump”, she says. “This seems like a no-brainer now, but at the time it was revolutionary!” And the future looks just as busy for Amy. “I’m now organising the next DiabetesMine Innovation Summit. These summits are held every year at Stanford School of Medicine to bring the key stakeholders in diabetes care together in an intimate environment”, she explains. “The first one was held in 2011, and it was interesting because participants were nervous about being in the same room as their peers, thinking the competition might learn trade secrets, so we had to convince them that the focus was on understanding patient needs and that it was going to be a great learning experience for all—and it was!” Amy managed to get the US Food and Drug Administration, the biggest gatekeeper to new diabetes treatments, to interact with patients, health insurance payers, device makers, and research and development companies. “It’s all about breaking down barriers and giving patients control of their health care”, she tells The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. “I’m just proud to be a part of that.” On top of being a full-time pioneer for diabetes technology innovation, Amy still manages to find time for her family. “I have three teenage daughters and that keeps me very busy”, she laughs, “My husband and I are also huge fitness enthusiasts—and this predates the diabetes—I do a lot of aerobics, I run, I cycle, and even do some hiking when time permits.” She also has an obvious fondness for Germany. “My husband is German and we spend some time there every summer. My family all speak German fluently, so we love splitting our time between California and Europe.” And Amy has plenty lined up for the future. “For the next summit, we’re focusing on usability of the tools—yes, technology is cool, but it’s all about how we can actually change someone’s life for the better. We are always looking for the next opportunity to be a catalyst for change.”
Patricia Lobo www.thelancet.com/diabetes-endocrinology Vol 4 January 2016
Profile Amy Tenderich: a trailblazer for diabetes innovation
Published Online October 9, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2213-8587(15)00383-6 For more on e-patients see http://e-patients.net/ about-e-patientsnet For DiabetesMine see http://www.healthline.com/ diabetesmine For the open letter to Steve Jobs see http://www.healthline. com/health/diabetesmine/ innovation/open-letter-stevejobs For more on robots and type 1 diabetes see In Focus Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2015; 3: 844
26
Amy Tenderich was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2003. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to improve diabetes care. “I’ve become something of a poster child for e-patients with diabetes”, she chuckles, referring to those patients who take an active role in their health and health-care decisions. And after speaking with her, it is easy to understand why. It is difficult not to be overcome with the same passion and drive for change that Amy has for diabetes care. After her diagnosis, Amy describes searching the internet for information. “This was before social media. I felt isolated and was confused about what I should be paying attention to. There wasn’t much real-world information for patients with diabetes.” Driven by this lack of information, she became one of the first people in the world to start her own diabetes blog in 2005, DiabetesMine, covering information about diabetes treatments and life issues from the patient’s point of view—she refers to it as her “gold mine of informational nuggets”. Her blog became hugely popular with patients and industry alike, with more than 120 000 visitors per month, and has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Sharecare/American Diabetes Association distinction of “number one diabetes influencer site in the country”. As a technology journalist and a patient living with diabetes, Amy is uniquely placed to be a conduit between the technology industry and the patient world. And taking matters into her own hands, in 2007, she penned an “open letter to Steve Jobs” on the occasion of the hundredmillionth iPod being sold. “At the time, medical devices for diabetes didn’t hold a candle to consumer technology, and while consumer technology was becoming more nano and portable, diabetes devices were still clunky and hospitallike”, she explains. Her letter asked Jobs to help redesign diabetes devices, such as the insulin pump and continuous monitors, to make them more desirable and customisable. “That letter went viral”, Amy explains. “Although there was no response from Apple itself, I was contacted by a design firm called Adaptive Path in San Francisco who were looking for a pro-bono project and thought this was fascinating!” Amy worked together with Adaptive Path, and they interviewed several hundred other people living with diabetes, and from this process, a prototype device called the Charmr was born. “It was unlike anything out there”, Amy recalls. “It was a small compact device that would serve as a combination controller for an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, with a colour touchscreen and a hoop so you could wear it like a charm on a necklace or a keychain.” Around the same time, Amy received funding from California HealthCare Foundation and worked with the prominent design company IDEO to start an international
crowdfunding competition called the DiabetesMine Design Challenge. “This was the first time that someone issued an open call: whoever you are, if you have a great idea for a device that could improve life with diabetes, then we want to hear about it”, she says. “We ran the competition for 4 years and received hundreds of submissions from around the world.” She fondly remembers one particular submission—Jerry the Bear with Diabetes—which won in the most creative category in 2009, and actually went on to become a successful product, a very useful educational toy for children with diabetes. “Another prominent idea from the competition was having an iPhone as the interface for the glucose monitor and insulin pump”, she says. “This seems like a no-brainer now, but at the time it was revolutionary!” And the future looks just as busy for Amy. “I’m now organising the next DiabetesMine Innovation Summit. These summits are held every year at Stanford School of Medicine to bring the key stakeholders in diabetes care together in an intimate environment”, she explains. “The first one was held in 2011, and it was interesting because participants were nervous about being in the same room as their peers, thinking the competition might learn trade secrets, so we had to convince them that the focus was on understanding patient needs and that it was going to be a great learning experience for all—and it was!” Amy managed to get the US Food and Drug Administration, the biggest gatekeeper to new diabetes treatments, to interact with patients, health insurance payers, device makers, and research and development companies. “It’s all about breaking down barriers and giving patients control of their health care”, she tells The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. “I’m just proud to be a part of that.” On top of being a full-time pioneer for diabetes technology innovation, Amy still manages to find time for her family. “I have three teenage daughters and that keeps me very busy”, she laughs, “My husband and I are also huge fitness enthusiasts—and this predates the diabetes—I do a lot of aerobics, I run, I cycle, and even do some hiking when time permits.” She also has an obvious fondness for Germany. “My husband is German and we spend some time there every summer. My family all speak German fluently, so we love splitting our time between California and Europe.” And Amy has plenty lined up for the future. “For the next summit, we’re focusing on usability of the tools—yes, technology is cool, but it’s all about how we can actually change someone’s life for the better. We are always looking for the next opportunity to be a catalyst for change.”
Patricia Lobo www.thelancet.com/diabetes-endocrinology Vol 4 January 2016
