Kate Farnsworth is a diabetes advocate devoted to easing the burden of disease for people living with diabetes and their families. Farnsworth’s connection to diabetes started when her daughter Sydney, only 8 years old at the time, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a condition where little or no insulin is produced by the body, leading to inefficient sugar (glucose) metabolism. Today, Farnsworth tirelessly advocates for diabetes care and the development of diabetes monitoring technology.

With a background in technology and graphic design, Farnsworth is often recognized as the founder and fierce leader of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) #WeAreNotWaiting online movement, as well as the creator of a DIY tool for monitoring diabetes. When her daughter was first diagnosed, she was not impressed by the options that were available to help manage her condition. So she lent her skills to creating diabetes watch faces that monitor blood sugar levels. This is often termed a closed-loop system. Closed-loops are commonly referred to as an “artificial pancreas” and are a combination of an insulin pump and a glucose monitor that regulates the user’s insulin levels with little to no effort or interaction required from the patient. Today her watches are used around the world by those living with diabetes to continuously observe glucose levels between the insulin pump and monitor – a remarkable feat since no tubeless system previously marketed allowed for this simultaneous monitoring.

Today, Farnsworth is a Community Liaison Manager for Beta Bionics, a company that is developing a bionic pancreas – a medical device that automatically and autonomously manages blood sugar levels in patients with type 1 diabetes. There she advocates and educates people on the use of DIY monitoring technology. Her advocacy focuses on connecting, discussing, and broadening the use of different technologies for those diagnosed with diabetes.

— Written by Nargol Ghazian