Great products are often ideas brought to life out of necessity. That is how Kris Maynard, co-creator of the Glucose Boost glucose gel necklace, came up with the idea for this very cool invention.

Diagnosed at 23 with type 1 diabetes, Kris knows the importance of keeping glucose handy for lows with him. He’s also been an EMT/firefighter for the last 20 years, so he’s also seen the other side of how lows can affect people. He knows how carrying food or juice isn’t always practical, which can lead to emergency situations.

As he tells the story, he himself was training for a half-marathon just two years ago, and oftentimes would not have juice with him because it became “too bulky,” and has had to call his wife for help.

“Last year as I was camping with my kids, my blood sugar dropped so low in the middle of the night I began convulsing. My kids we unable to wake me and immediately called 911. When the EMT’s arrived, they rubbed glucose gel on my gums, within minutes I awoke, became alert and everything was okay, I did not need to be transported to the hospital.

That is when the idea occurred to me. I don’t know how many times, I have administered glucose gel to diabetics as an EMT and I never thought to carry it myself.”

As an avid sportsman, Kris knew he needed to create a way for people with diabetes such as himself to carry glucose but without the bulk, lending them to still be able to be as active in their sporting adventures as they’d like to be. That’s how Kris and Adam Morrison, another person with type 1 diabetes, came up with the idea of a necklace.

“At first, I didn’t think of making it available to other people until my Endocrinologist said “I need to.” I showed her my prototype I was wearing and she said, “this is a simple solution to potentially devastating and all too common problem.”

“I look at this necklace as a type of medical alert necklace… but with a solution! In a time of low blood sugar and the state of confusion I wanted something you didn’t need to look for or with friends and family in time of panic they wouldn’t need to look for something to help. I wanted something to be easy and readily available.”

“In designing this necklace and making a product out of it, we are at the beginning stages. We are looking for companies to license this product, we have funded everything ourselves and currently have a patent pending. We are now trying to figure out the business side of things and learning the demand for a product like this.”

As a volunteer for the ADA, Kris has also seen first-hand how diabetes can affect kids in school, and Adam was diagnosed at age 14, so he knows what it is like to be a kid in school with diabetes. The necklace was designed to hopefully help with the embarrassment that kids may face for having to treat a low at school by being as discrete as possible. “My desire for this necklace is to be useful to all diabetics, which can help all of us live regular active lives.”

How does it work?

“The product is designed where the glucose gel is squeezed out of the necklace and can be administered by self or by someone else onto the gums for quick absorption. The necklace is connected by magnetic clasps to make it easy for quick removal and can be adjusted to fit any size or shape of person. It holds 25 g of glucose gel, almost twice the amount the American Diabetes Association recommends every diabetic carry. The magnetic clasp acts as a plug to be removed when needed. There have been times when I’ve only used a small portion of my gel, reinserted the plug and put it back on as a necklace.”

I really hope that Kris and Adam are able to bring this awesome idea to market very soon. The design would make it very easy to have with you, and very easy to treat with if one were to have a low on the go. They are currently self-funded, and are looking for a company to work with them to bring this to market.

You can find them online on both Facebook and Twitter.

Read more about American Diabetes Association (ADA), low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).