National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, Research School of Chemistry, ANU College of Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
PLoS One. 2022 Jul 25;17(7):e0269925. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269925. eCollection 2022.
Portable breath ketone sensors may help people with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) avoid episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis; however, the design features preferred by users have not been studied. We aimed to elucidate breath sensor design preferences of young people with T1DM (age 12 to 16) and their parents to inform the development of a breath ketone sensor prototype that would best suit their diabetes management needs.
To elicit foundational experiences from which design preference ideas could be generated, two commercially available breath ketone sensors, designed for ketogenic diet monitoring, were explored over one week by ten young people with T1DM. Participants interacted with the breath ketone sensing devices, and undertook blood ketone testing, at least twice daily for five days to simulate use within a real life and ambulatory care setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted post-testing with the ten young participants and their caregivers (n = 10) to elicit preferences related to breath sensor design and use, and to inform the co-design of a breath ketone sensor prototype for use in T1DM self-management. We triangulated our data collection with key informant interviews with two diabetes educators working in pediatric care about their perspectives related to young people using breath ketone sensors.
Participants acknowledged the non-invasiveness of breath sensors as compared to blood testing. Affordability, reliability and accuracy were identified as prerequisites for breath ketone sensors used for diabetes management. Design features valued by young people included portability, ease of use, sustainability, readability and suitability for use in public. The time required to use breath sensors was similar to that for blood testing. The requirement to maintain a 10-second breath exhalation posed a challenge for users. Diabetes educators highlighted the ease of use of breath devices especially for young people who tended to under-test using blood ketone strips.
Breath ketone sensors for diabetes management have potential that may facilitate ketone testing in young people. Our study affirms features for young people that drive usability of breath sensors among this population, and provides a model of user preference assessment.
便携式呼吸酮传感器可能有助于 1 型糖尿病患者（T1DM）避免发生糖尿病酮症酸中毒；然而，用户偏好的设计特点尚未得到研究。我们旨在阐明 T1DM 青少年（12 至 16 岁）及其父母对呼吸传感器设计的偏好，为开发最适合其糖尿病管理需求的呼吸酮传感器原型提供信息。
为了引出可以产生设计偏好想法的基础经验，10 名 T1DM 青少年在一周内探索了两种用于生酮饮食监测的市售呼吸酮传感器。参与者每天至少两次使用呼吸酮传感设备进行交互，并进行了为期五天的血液酮测试，以模拟在现实生活和门诊护理环境中的使用。测试后，对 10 名青少年参与者及其护理人员（n=10）进行了半结构化访谈，以了解与呼吸传感器设计和使用相关的偏好，并为 T1DM 自我管理中使用的呼吸酮传感器原型的共同设计提供信息。我们通过对两名在儿科护理领域工作的糖尿病教育者进行关键知情人访谈，对我们的数据收集进行了三角验证，以了解他们对青少年使用呼吸酮传感器的看法。
参与者承认与血液测试相比，呼吸传感器具有非侵入性。可负担性、可靠性和准确性被确定为用于糖尿病管理的呼吸酮传感器的先决条件。青少年重视的设计特点包括便携性、易用性、可持续性、可读性和在公共场合使用的适宜性。使用呼吸传感器所需的时间与血液测试相似。需要保持 10 秒的呼气时间对用户来说是一个挑战。糖尿病教育者强调了呼吸设备的易用性，尤其是对于倾向于使用血液酮条进行测试不足的年轻人。
用于糖尿病管理的呼吸酮传感器具有潜力，可以促进年轻人的酮体测试。我们的研究证实了年轻人对呼吸传感器可用性的推动因素，并提供了用户偏好评估的模型。
