TGen researcher and Flinn seed grants awardee creates app to guide injection of insulin
By Brian Powell
Flinn Foundation
Sampath Rangasamy was just a child when he was taken by his father past the rice fields and palm trees of his rural South India farming village to a nearby medical clinic.
He had been losing weight, was seriously ill and needed immediate care. Once he was stabilized, he learned that his daily life would never be the same.
Rangasamy was told by his doctor there would not be a quick cure for his Type 1 diabetes. He would need to inject insulin every day for the rest of his life, starting with daily shots from steel needles sterilized by his mother in boiling water.
“(My doctor) educated me and said, ‘You are going to be the doctor for yourself,’” Rangasamy said. “I didn’t understand much but he drew it as a cartoon to help me understand what exactly it is and what I need to do.”
Today, Rangasamy not only successfully manages his condition, but is developing a smartphone application to support others in the same situation.
The app helps people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes better guide the injection of insulin and provides automatic insulin pump placement using an exclusive algorithm with real-time tracking.
The Translational Genomics Research Institute molecular biologist and research associate professor was the principal investigator on a four-person team, in partnership with Mayo Clinic Arizona, that received $100,000 from the Flinn Foundation Seed Grants to Promote Translational Research Program to help develop and commercialize his product. The Flinn program is seeking applications for its next round of grants through Thursday, Sept. 26.
An unexpected journey
Farming was the main profession in Olapalayam, Rangasamy’s village of about 50 homes. And it’s possible he would have continued in his family’s tradition if not for his Type 1 diabetes.
But Rangasamy knew after being diagnosed that he wanted to be a doctor or scientist.
He was educated in India, including earning his doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Madras. He moved to the United States nearly two decades ago, spending time at the University of Colorado and University of New Mexico before joining TGen in downtown Phoenix in 2014. In addition to diabetes, Rangasamy’s research focuses on rare childhood genetic disorders.
Thanks to advances in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes, a chronic childhood disease, Rangasamy uses an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system that automatically keeps his blood sugar in the proper range.
Rangasamy says the pump should be moved every 48 to 72 hours to avoid skin irritation, infection, injury, scarring, and lipohypertorphy, or a lump of fatty tissue under the skin which delays the insulin absorption.
Rangasamy originally thought he’d develop a way to help his own skin irritation, but later decided his idea could be used to reach between the 40% and 70% of diabetes patients with the same problem.
Rangasamy has completed a clinical trial and received a patent but there is still work to be done. He is now exploring opportunities with key partners to further develop and bring the app to market.
“The main goal is bring this to the people, test it and make it better, and integrate it as an important element of diabetes care,” Rangasamy said.
Seed grants application deadline of Sept. 26
The Flinn Foundation seed grants program is seeking a new cohort of Arizona-based researchers advancing new products or services that address a significant clinical need.
Each year, the Flinn Foundation funds about 10 research teams affiliated with an Arizona university, research institution, or health-care system over 18 months, including a $100,000 grant as well as connections with research and industry experts, quarterly check-ins, and workshops on product development and commercialization. Membership on Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee is also included. At the end of the grant period, up to two of the most successful projects may receive up to an additional $100,000 over the following year.
The Flinn program is currently accepting applications through 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. Learn more about the program and how to apply at flinn.org/seedgrants.