Medtronic announced today that it had obtained FDA approval for a device that will monitor patients' glucose levels and automatically shut off insulin delivery when glucose levels reach a certain point.
http://www.trainedbyinsulin.com/1/post/2013/09/fda-approval-for-medtronic.html
Copied and pasted from posting in " Diabetes Hand Foundation /Diabetes News and Interest " The Enlite Sensor has been available in Canada since Spring combined with the Veo pump ; the cost of one sensor is approx CAN $ 65,00 http://www.medtronicdiabetes.ca/en/paradigm_veo.html
Being used to the previous sensor ...already forgot the name, ha, ha ( the large needle never bothered me ) I needed to do a bit of new learning how to attach to my body .I have the low suspend set @ 3.6 ( x 18 ) and may decide to up it a bit to avoid fewer warnings esp during the night . A pumper buddy of mine helped me initially with insertion ; she was trained by her Pump Nurse ( a recent pumper ) . I am able to get another 15-16 hours of sensor use , after the initial 6 days by starting a " new sensor " .The insulin pump itself has not changed
Good luck to you. I'm living in Europe and have had the Medtronic Enlite sensor + Paradigm 554 pump for over a year. The sensor is great for showing the trend of my BG. For me,however, the sensor accuracy has been too low to let it automatically suspend insulin. It gives way too many false positives. I have for the last 6 months also turned off the low BG alarms - it keept waking me and my wife up at night and most of the time nothing was wrong. I am swithcing to Dexcom G4 next month - I hope and belive that will be more accurate. In any case, I wish you good luck with the system and please let us know how it goes. As they say: YMMV:)
skytor, if I understand it, Europe has the pump that includes the turn-off for low BG. If it depends on the Medtronic sensor, I am sorry to hear that. Somehow I was thinking it might come with a better sensor.
I think this option, if it were accurate, would be a major advance in technology, management, and psychological benefits. But, if it is not accurate then I don't see it as an advance. So strange to me that technology can be so precise in so many other human/medical applications. Just not diabetes: meters, pumps, cgms. Makes you wonder.