A User Preference Analysis Of Commercial Breath Ketone Sensors to Inform the Development of Portable Breath Ketone Sensors for Diabetes Management in Young People

Background. 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 analysis and design preferences associated with commercial breath ketone devices among young people with T1DM aged 12-16 years and their parents in order to inform the development of a breath ketone sensor prototype for diabetes management in young people. Research Designs and Methods. 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 devices at least twice daily for five days to simulate a real-life usage of the breath devices in addition to blood testing devices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted post-testing with the young participants and their caregivers to elicit preferences related to breath analysis and to inform the co-design of a diabetes breath ketone sensor prototype. To validate the results from a professional healthcare perspective, we interviewed two diabetes educators working in paediatric care about their perspective of young people using breath ketone sensors.