Tickled pink: TickleFlex diabetic device wins prize

Peter Bailey’s TickleFlex has scooped a share of £200,000 as one of the Design Council Spark’s 2016 finalists.  

Bailey’s device is designed to improve the everyday lives of insulin-dependent diabetics by removing the human error and pain of injecting insulin. A Type 1 diabetic himself, Bailey’s device clips on to the needle and works by creating a pinch that concentrates the subcutaneous tissue, controls the needle depth, and saturates local sensory inputs which then block the pain pathways. The specially textured flexing fingers grip the skin and fold inwards, like a multiple-fingered pinch, resulting in a safer and more comfortable way of self-administering.