For my thesis project, I designed a powerful diabetes management tool for both patients and doctors. By combining existing products with accessible technologies, the system allows users to easily manage, automate, and share real-time medical records.

Many thanks to endocrinologist Robert Smith and diabetes educator Sharon Hansen for their mentorship on this project.

Current digital logging solutions all require manual user input, or a physical connection in order to download readings. By incorporating bluetooth technology into devices like blood glucose meters and insulin pumps, Diabetes Connect can automatically send information to a user’s profile.

The system is simple: a user checks their blood or doses insulin. The medical device then sends this information, via bluetooth, to the user’s phone. If the phone also has internet access, the data is automatically logged to the web app. Otherwise, a text message containing the data is created and sent to the web app through the cell network.

Information stored in a user’s chart can, with permission, be connected to multiple platforms. The web app can automatically refill prescriptions based on the number of test strips or insulin units tracked. An emergency system (much like Lifeline) can be informed if a blood glucose reading falls above or below preset safety thresholds. Healthcare providers can be granted access to the app’s charts and records.

The application is cross-platform, so users can check their charts wherever they are. Parents and young children especially benefit from the service, because it enables independence for kids, and peace-of-mind for parents who want to know remotely how their kids are doing.

Looking beyond the treatment of diabetes, the system could expand to include any medical device that regularly collects data.

This installation makes use of urban voids and promotes the beauty of renewable energy. Additionally, it serves as a compelling argument for tighter integration of clean power generation into urban fabric and daily life.

in collaboration with Miriam Zisook (RISD ID ‘10)

The I-95/195 interchange is a driver’s first impression of Providence, Rhode Island. Highway interchanges like these create huge, unattractive gaps in the urban landscape that are not usable by the communities around them.

The I-95/195 interchange is a driver’s first impression of Providence, Rhode Island. Highway interchanges like these create huge, unattractive gaps in the urban landscape that are not usable by the communities around them.

Vertical axis wind turbines open up exciting new opportunities for urban wind harvesting, because, unlike horizontal axis turbines, they increase efficiency when placed close together, much like schools of fish.

New research suggests vastly increased efficiency when these kinds of turbines are coupled to share air currents. In order to maximize this effect, we structured the plotting of turbines into long rows across the site.

The whisper-quiet turbines form a moving canopy overhead, and photo-luminescent paint gives them a soft glow by night.

The whisper-quiet turbines form a moving canopy overhead, and photo-luminescent paint gives them a soft glow by night.

An electric car charging station adjacent to the site could provide up to 100,000 miles per day of driving. Thousands of highway interchanges throughout the U.S. can be improved and made useful with similar installations.

References: Google Maps. / “Wind turbines take lesson from schools of fish.” ITWire. William Atkins, Web. 29 Jan. 2010. / Thomas, Robert N. Coupled vortex vertical axis wind turbine. Patent 6784566. 31 Aug. 2004. / “Charging electric vehicles” Better Place: The global provider of electric vehicle services.

A service using social objects to enrich interaction at gatherings.

in collaboration with Adrian Waibel (RISD ID Exchange ‘08)

Users purchase an RFID reader and a tag, which they attach to an object of their choosing.

They can then personalize their new ‘buddy’ by syncing it to rich media content (music, photos, tweets, etc.) using a web application.

If a user is hosting an event, they can buy a special RFID reader ‘stage.’ Each time a buddy is added to the stage, its media is loaded into an online version of the event, which can be displayed on a computer screen, or projected for maximum effect. Songs are added to the event’s music playlist. Photos are added to a slideshow, and links & quotes are also displayed.

This multimedia experience can enhance the event atmosphere, and act as a dynamic conversation piece, both for digital content as well as the physical objects users have chosen.

The prototype for the project was constructed with real RFID tags and readers, and the software was coded in Flash.

Users are encouraged to swap buddies at events, and to continue the dialogue by adding media and attending more events. As part of the online social network, a ‘buddy history’ feature could further extend online media sharing.

I designed a product for diabetics that combines multiple components into one device.

This wireless insulin pump controller design integrates a blood testing kit, eliminating the need to carry separate devices. Instead of juggling four separate components, users need only one. The device serves as the interface for dosing insulin, checking blood, and storing test strips.

I constructed and rendered the design using SolidWorks, which allowed for thinking about how the internal components might be structured. The lancing device is protected by the scrollpad, which functions as a cap. Users simply remove this part to prick their finger, then rotate the device around to take blood from the test strip at the opposite end.