There are some really cool things happening with diabetes technology. One of them is a teddy bear.
This summer, we met the founders of Sproutel, a company that wants to educate children about chronic conditions through play. Their first product is Jerry the Bear, an interactive toy for kids with type 1 diabetes.
I spoke with Andrew Berkowitz, the VP of Engineering who also has type 1. Yes, he’s dressed as the bear:
[youtube id=”_aJ2cb8MzNg” width=”600″ height=”350″]
Benny is just off the screen, goofing around and trying to make Andrew crack up. He almost gets him right there at the end.
I”m really excited about this project. Even though Benny may be just a bit too old right now to get a lot of use out of Jerry, I’m still thinking of buying one. It would be a terrific teaching tool for younger friends. How great would this have been to take to preschool to help explain Benny’s diabetes management?
Admittedly, I may be a bit biased toward this company. We found out I have a connection to Sproutel’s CEO. Aaron Horowitz and I went to the same high school. We even had the same favorite teacher. (Hi, Mr. Faigle! Stacey & Aaron say thanks for being a great AP social studies teacher!)
Shortly after we met Andrew, Aaron and Sproutel CCO Hannah Chung, they were kind enough to feature Benny as an All-Star of the Week on Jerry the Bear’s Facebook page (click here). I’m looking forward to seeing just what else they come up with!
Jerry The Bear
