Would you be interested in having insulin and glucagon automatically administered without needing your input? I know the FDA would/will put a major slow down on this. They're resistant to CGMs and pumps working together to auto-adminisiter insulin as it is.
On a side note, with that much tech attached and beaming info to and from our bodies we may start looking like cyborgs!
One day I hope this technology works. But in the meantime, they are still using currently available CGMs and they are not that reliable. Also, when interviewed (I saw this on TV) they talked about how it would be available in about 5 years. Unfortunately, this is modern code for "it's not anywhere near ready yet". That's my take on the 5 year forecast anyway.
Yeah, five years till ready and 5years to never to get FDA approval. Lets hope I'm wrong because it would help so many. My next question is how hard would we have to fight insurance companies and medicare to get one.
Some additional information on same study it appears. Got linked to the first one by a friend today and found the additional information when browsing further on the site.
To me the "artificial pancreas" looks like a pump/cgm in 2 separate locations on a patient's body complete with tubing. I already feel like a cyborg with just a CGM and while I appreciate the addition of the glucagon algorithm for nighttime lows, I don't see this as that big of a departure from what is currently available. Except for maybe a single hand held device to control them both but I am ok with waiting for the omnipod/dex combo without the tubing.
I don't care about looking like a cyborg. The AP will help me, like it has been proven to help those who participated in the studies. I want to get an AP before it is approved by the FDA. My risk tolerance is much greater than theirs. They don't know what is best for me.
I have no interest in having glucagon administered by a gizmo. Glucagon is pretty nasty stuff and I seem to be able to do very well with the current technology. I am a bit concerned about what seems to be a vast amount of resources aiming at something that I will bet any researcher $100 I can beat with my current rig. Week/month/year are negotiable.
I understand Eb, the best way I guess to get around the FDA is to do what some people can do. Fly to Europe, get a doctor to write you a script and pay out of pocket for the newest and greatest. There are some folks in the US who already use the Enlight sensors for Medtronic pumps they are not approved here. There are also some people who use degludec insulin here in the US but it is all purchased in Europe or Canada. None of us thinks the FDA knows what is best for us. But at the moment it is the system we are stuck. Unless we move to another country. What I try to do is the best I can within the limits of the system. If it means trying a different basal insulin or a different fast acting, or timing my shots to better coincide with my meals then that is what I have to do to take care of myself. If it means eating a few less carbs or doing some extra exercise that is fine too. But I am not going to wait around for the FDA to approve a device when I can take better care of myself now, just by changing some habits.
Ooops, I didn't realize it was an old thread that had popped back up!! I thought it was longer ago than that too, I guess time files? A third player will be nice if it works!
Great attitude Clare! I agree it's best to do what you can. I also agree about not waiting around for the FDA. I'm confident they will get to it eventually, just not fast enough for me. I'll do whatever I can to push, pull, prod or circumnavigate the system so as not to be stuck by it.
I am also leery of glucagon. I can understand how it would help keep you at a target number because the AP could apply the insulin faster to avoid the highs and still have the glucagon available to put on the brakes if you were heading low. I'm interested to first learn how well a single-factor, insulin-only AP would perform.
I don't see the current level of AP spending as a vast amount of resources. You don't have to look far into government spending to find much more dubious uses of orders of magnitude more money.
