Coláiste Mhuire students devise diabetes app
Friends and Coláiste Mhuire schoolmates Donnacha Doyle, Walshestown, and Dylan Hanly, Mullingar, under the supervision of teacher Eva Acton, came up with their project idea – an app aimed at revolutionising diabetes management for teenagers and others with diabetes – after realising that for diabetes patients phone screens were cluttered with apps, each recording different measurements or performing different tasks when what was needed was one that loaded all of those functions into one easy-to-use application.
The reason the two were so attuned to the subject is because Donncha was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes four years ago. He admits that he was in shock after receiving the diagnosis.
“I thought I would not be able to live normally, but, with the guidance of the clinic in Mullingar, I realised that wasn’t the case and I could live normally,” he says.
The result is ‘DiaCare’, which the boys describe as “a toolkit for teen diabetics” to help them cope with living with diabetes.
“DiaCare puts all the small features from the apps into one,” said Dylan, citing features such as carb counting, a straightforward means of tracking carbohydrate intake and planning meals, temperature alerts and notifications that warn users if their insulin storage conditions are too hot or cold.
DiaCare also includes a diabetes ‘encyclopedia’, a comprehensive resource for learning about diabetes with easy-to-understand information for both teens and their families.
“To ensure that DiaCare truly meets the needs of its users, we sent out surveys to diabetics and their parents,” says Donnacha.
“Their feedback was important in making the app. We carefully listened to their insights and added features they found most essential into the app.”
The boys say their ultimate goal is simple yet important: providing diabetics with tools that help them live healthier and better lives. And they believe DiaCare can make meaningful difference, not just for teenagers but others also managing diabetes on a daily basis.
• Diacare.flutterflow.app