The President of the Republic’s prize in the 2016 Lépine competition was awarded to an application that allows diabetics to manage their insulin injections.
The Lépine competition has made its digital transition. No knife to cut oysters or automaton to create baguettes: the 115e edition ends this Sunday and the President of the Republic’s prize has been awarded to a smartphone application that helps people with diabetes to regulate their blood sugar. A new generation invention, with significant potential commercial outlets.
It aims to protect them against hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, the main enemies of diabetics. By entering the details of the meals and blood sugar levels in the application, it takes care of the amount of insulin to be injected, in line with the treatment protocol provided by the doctor.
For the diabetic and his entourage
Its inventor, Benoît Mirambeau, is a 48-year-old supermarket manager. He, according to legend, created this app to help his mother, Annie, who has suffered from diabetes for over 30 years. According to the inventor, calculating the amount of insulin to inject is becoming more and more complicated for this 74-year-old woman.
“This application, he made it for me, because I had a very serious hypoglycemia and therefore he thought of making this application, she says. When I saw that it worked for me, that pharmacists and diabetologists were in favor of it, I said to my son: “Introduce Lépine, you never know” “.
The application also allows to include the entourage. “Grandparents receive their 4 or 5 year old diabetic grandchildren who are sometimes afraid of being overwhelmed without their parents,” explains Benoît Mirambeau on BFM TV. They can now calculate the exact doses of insulin without the risk of making mistakes. »Thanks to an alert feature by SMS and email, family and friends can also be notified of the patient’s follow-up.
No money, but contacts
For his award at the Lépine competition, Benoît Mirambeau did not win money, but a Sèvres porcelain vase. It nevertheless attracted the attention of potential investors, interested in the outlets of such an application. Worldwide, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 400 million people indeed suffer from diabetes, and struggle with their blood sugar levels. A potentially huge market.
However, as a medical device, the small software will have to undergo a special approval treatment. The inventor, who feels lost in the face of this administrative mountain, will be able to benefit from the skills of these patrons. Because that is the role of the Lépine competition: to put small inventors in contact with investors to develop innovative products.
.
