Chemical Engineering

Medication taken without an injection:

Attach it to another molecule, so you take it as a pill
Put insulin in vesicles, which are little microcapsules with an insulin center
Give insulin as an aerosol, and sniff it

Genetic Engineering:
Fix this by genetic engineering

Use needles but make them less painful:

Make a slow release form, so you need to inject less often
Use many very small needles

Implantation:
Build a surgically implanted pump, which releases insulin when needed
Implant modified insulin, which dissolves only when glucose is present
Build a surgically implanted machine that gives off insulin pulses
Build an artificial pancreas
Make an insulin reservoir and a valve that the patient can open when he or she
needs to

Other medication:
Use other drugs
Use a mixture of different drugs

Fusing across skin:

Push insulin across the skin with an electric field
Modify insulin so that it can diffuse across the skin
Have an insulin patch, like a nicotine patch

Not useful:
1. Inject the insulin without needles – This idea should be thrown out because
injections require needles
2. Make the implantation pump very small – The pump cannot be very small because
it holds a battery, which can only get so small and still function.
3. Use no needles – This idea offers no other solution to giving a patient more
insulin.

Top Ideas:
Alternative 1: Make a slow release form, so you need to inject less often
Alternative 2: Give insulin as an aerosol, and sniff it
Alternative 3: Build an artificial pancreas

Weighing Benchmark Alternative Alternative Alternative

 Factor Product 1 2 3
Mature .2 5 4 7 9
Science
Cost .2 5 8 7 9
Safety .4 5 8 7 1
Public .2 5 7 4 4
Acceptance
TOTAL 5 6.2 6.2 3.6
SCORE

Scoring:
Alternative 1:
It is not really a new science because insulin injections are already used; however, it
is very cost effective. This is a pretty safe method, although there is a risk of not
enough insulin being produced when the patient needs it. The public would not be
too excited about this treatment because it is very similar to the treatment used
now.

Alternative 2:
This is a pretty new science but some medication already use aerosol. This would
not be too expensive based on the low prices of other inhaling medications.
However, there is a risk of improper use, and the public would be unfamiliar with
the product.

Alternative 3:
This is a very new and cutting edge science, but this is also very expensive. There is
also a high risk associated with this implantation. The surgery is also dangerous and
risky, which would not appeal to the public.