Catherine Patton: Business Ideas Come from Everyday Needs

Catherine Patton, founder of Patton Medical Devices, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2001. As a result, she is now faced with the daily struggle of effectively managing her disease.

Using injection therapy, Ms. Patton quickly grew tired of giving herself an injection each time she needed insulin. The multiple daily injections often left her skin bruised. She then switched to insulin pump therapy where she only had to inject herself every three days. But she found the pump therapy to be inconvenient, uncomfortable and hindered with her active lifestyle.

She then went on to research and experiment on a device that could meet her medical needs, yet have a minimal impact on her life. This led to her invention of i-port®, a medical device for diabetes patients who struggle with daily injections.

Realizing an unmet need existed and that there are others like her faced with the challenges of managing diabetes, Ms. Patton founded Patton Medical Devices in 2004 to manufacture and distribute her invention.