Ever since I made the switch in college to a Public Health major, one of the reasons that I decided to stay involved was learning about diabetes statistics. Yes there are differences in Type 1 and Type 2 and the way that individuals with diabetes go about treating their illness varies far and wide. But one thing is for sure – with the 24 million Americans living with diabetes, making treatment easier should be a priority. 
That’s where one of my favorite people come into the picture. Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine™, one of the most popular blogs on the Web focused on improving the lives of those living with diabetes, just unveiled the news about the 2009 DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge! I remember being pretty excited about the challenge last year and this year I’m taking the steps to get the word out because this is a big deal. The contest is a San Francisco blog-based competition calling for innovative design concepts (devices or web applications) that will improve life with diabetes. This year, the contest is sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), with a Grand Prize of $10,000. It’s also supported by global innovation firm IDEO and by Medgadget.com, the Internet journal of emerging medical technologies.
Before we get into the details of why you want to get your thinking cap on (other than the grand prize!), I wanted to share the awesome video that was produced exclusively for the Challenge. If this doesn’t get you motivated to do some good, either with this Challenge or elsewhere concerning diabetes, I don’t know what will:
Is it just me or is it obvious that Jonathan & Cameron are going to be doing something very cool when they grow up – and that something cool thing will probably be in 2 years…
So what’s up for grabs?
Three winners will be selected to receive the following prizes:
- $10,000 in cash for the Grand Prize winner;
- plus a mini-workshop with Health and Wellness experts at the global design and innovation firm IDEO;
- and one free access ticket to the “innovation incubator” Health 2.0 Conference planned for October 2009 in San Francisco, CA
- $5,000 cash for the “Most Creative Idea” category winner;
- plus a consulting session with IDEO design expert
- $2,000 cash for the winner of the Kids’ Category (under age 18)
Submissions are accepted in the form of a 2-minute video to be uploaded to the DiabetesMine YouTube channel, or a 2-3 page written “elevator pitch” plus supporting graphics, also to be uploaded online. The deadline for entries is Friday, May 1st, 2009, at 11:59 pm Pacific time. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 18th, 2009.
And to help with spreading the word, feel free to download and distribute the Contest poster here and read through the official press release.
Thanks again to Amy as well as all of the Americans living with diabetes for inspiring us to think outside the box and re-imagining the possibilities in a new era of healthcare.
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