InsuliNa
Emergency Insulin powder dispenser
A group project where we are tasked to design according to the Cradle to Cradle approach in the Health and Medical field.
01
First concept sketches
This project aims to create a product that can replace insulin injections and pumps, thus, reducing the amount of waste produced, and providing diabetic patients with a painless way of administrating insulin, while solving the issue of excessive amount of sargassum in the Caribbean.
02
Refining design
After choosing a direction in terms of the mechanism, we were refining the dispenser´s shape, making sure the grip was ergonomic and the overall user experience would be as comfortable as posible.
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From the first concept, we took a very literal take on ¨organic shape¨, to give it a funnier look. After that we took the initial inspiration and went for a smoother and organic shape.
03
Materials
The main material in InsuliNa is sargassum, the percentage of combined materials is minimum (20-30%) which all of them have been proven to be totally biodegradable and some of them, even recyclable. This helps InsuliNa to be considered a high eco-friendly product, where even the packaging can be repurposed, reducing its waste to a minimum.
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Most parts of the dispenser are made out of the sargassum biopolymer, which can be tinted or translucent. The rest of the pieces like the mechanism are made out of aluminium low density polymer, which are materials highly recyclable.
03
Life cycle
Since InsuliNa is thought to be an emergency single use device, it has a short life cycle. To avoid great quantities of waste, InsuliNa device can be returned to manufacturers through the retailer, so components can be properly recycled, while the packaging is totally biodegradable and can be used as compost.
04
Biological & Technological cycles
The biological cycle concerns products made from biodegradable materials, without harmful additives, able to decompose naturally and return to the biosphere. While the technological concerns all other products that cannot be returned to the earth to regenerate natural resources.
05
Business Model
InsuliNa has return bins in all pharmacies/stores where the product is available. Customers can collect used devices at home and bring them with them the next time they make a purchase. The store will then send the parts to the manufacturer, who will be re-processing the material.
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