An insulin pump manufacturer is currently conducting a research study on some new insulin pump concepts, and has created an online survey to gauge community opinion of their ideas.
In order to participate you must currently be taking insulin, either via insulin pump or injections.
If you would like to voice your opinions, and shape the future of insulin pumps, please click on the link below to begin the online survey.
Note: the insulin pump manufacturer that is conducting this survey wishes to remain anonymous in order to prevent brand influence during the survey.
As a token of their appreciation, the company will be making a donation to the online diabetes community of respondents' choice. Please see the survey for more info.
As additional incentive, they will also donate an extra $1000 to the diabetes community that provides the most completed surveys. Help TuDiabetes get that $1000 by taking the survey and charing it with your friends on TuDiabetes!
I took the survey as well. Unlike Emily it presented nothing I was interested in, though I could see how it would be positive for many. I found the other survey we were recently presented a lot more interesting as far as changes I'd want to buy. I wonder where that survey went? Did they already get enough people?
I'm trying to noodle out if this is Insulet, or a competitor trying to tease out Omnipod's biggest weaknesses.
As a pod user, for me personally the biggest weakness is the lack of an ability to bolus without the controller. Coincidentally, I ran in to this this weekend; left my PDM at work, which is not close.
So, back on MDI for the stretch. Control was worse, but still acceptable. Wasted about 150U (I had just changed the pod friday).
I'd switch to their "docker" pump in a heartbeat and leave Insulet in the dust just for this one feature -- a bolus button.
I'm not a fan of the removal/disconnect "feature" on their proposed device. For a patch pump, this really isn't a feature, but a compromise. They basically didn't engineer the thing to be waterproof like the pod, they're solution being take it off when you swim, shower, etc.
That's added inconvenience. Indeed, the way they wrote the questions in the survey, it sure seemed to me they were trying real hard to make detaching/removing the unit and then putting it back on as some sort of big plus! That's only the case when you're tethered.
When you're not, the "feature" is being able to forget it's there, and jump in the lake. This new concept requires me to add more precautionary "bookkeeping" to my activities -- one of the chief reasons I chose the Omnipod in the first place.
Detachability is an added plus only if we don't have to sacrifice not needing to detach it.
Wearing a patch pump versus a tubed pump clipped to my belt offers no enticement to me. I can understand that the fashion choices that women make like wanting to wear a dress instead of pants can create more attraction to a patch pump.
My failed five-month failed trial of the Omnipod probably had something to do with the angled and automated insertion. That's my best guess. When I went back to my old pump, the Ping, and used a 90 degree infusion set, my site problems disappeared.
I didn't see any compelling features of all the ideas suggested in the survey. Using a smartphone does hold some appeal as I could use one of my old smartphones to back me up if I lost my current one.
One feature that I don't think will ever persuade me is the integration of the CGM receiver into the face of the pump, thereby eliminating the separate CGM receiver. A pump that's alarming below layers of blankets at night has a poor chance of waking me up. This undermines the whole purpose of the CGM.
I want to know when I'm going low! Maybe the fact that my hearing is getting less sensitive as I age, but that's my reality. Besides, I used pumps when I was much younger and slept through many night-time pump alarms.
From my point of view, there are sufficient options for wearing a tubed pump with a dress that seem much more preferable to this still-vain older woman than having a big white plastic lump on my arm! I personally can see this "new product" being very appealing to current omnipod users, though, especially the smart phone idea. I've forgotten the specifics of the proposed new pumps in that other survey that came through recently, but it was much more appealing to me. My hard choice for my next pump will be between the t-slim and another Ping. I also like the choice of set types and have gotten very fond of the steel manual insertion ones.
It does seem that the majority of people settle into either the tubed or the pod camp. Perhaps this company, whoever they are is trying to get some cross over market share?
Done! Thanks for giving us the opportunity to participate. Too often diabetes products seem to be designed without adequate input (or any, sometimes) from the end-user.
The improvements that the pump companies are making are marginal at best. There's no breakthrough leap-frog of technology that produces a compelling reason to buy. I'm happy that my Ping just does the job reliably. I can count on it to give me the best control possible, as meager as that is by comparison to a healthy pancreas.
Do you ever successfully push the steel cannula sets beyond two days? I prefer manual insertion, too. That's really a critical step in pumping.
I will likely try out the Snap pump before I make another pump selection a few years from now. I'll probably upgrade to the Vibe when it finally comes out but I don't think it's much of an upgrade.
I don't know if I would give up my Revel 723 for either of these pump options. I did find the tubed version with a smartphone interface to be interesting. I don't believe a pod pump is for me, I could not do with a 90 degree insertion.
I took the survey - my only disappointment is that it didn't provide a field at the end to put some thoughts about the final question. I would have qualified it, but oh well.
Meh, I have seen the t:slim and was not impressed with the touchscreen. It has up and down arrows - you can't "swipe" like you can on a smartphone.
I do like the idea of a pump interacting with a smartphone IF it meant that the app would take advantage of accessibility features. That could be a HUGE for people with visual impairments. On the other hand, having to get out a smartphone and open an app just to bolus could be annoying. But if it had speech output, that would outweigh any other features for me!
I always keep the metal sets in for four days. And if there is some kind of problem and it hurts, I can just pull it out, put it in somewhere else and tape it down.
Interesting concept. Battery and insulin reservoir integrated on all options, anyone notice how that part of the concept they seem pretty set to? Nicely limits us from going longer than the 3 days etc on many pumps like now if no matter what it's going to run out of power (yes did complain about that concept in the ideas).
Would be interesting to know who it was who the survey was for? Interestingly found it odd that it never brought up any Medtronic things to compare them to. Was it a Medtronic survey *shrug*...seemed odd though.
Zoe, I'm a Type 2 and have been on the pump for the last four years. I'm 62 and expressed concern to my Endo at my last visit about Medicare paying for my pump and he said not to worry about it yet. My C-Peptide is on the very low end of normal and he's hoping that my pancreas will burn out a little more and we'll run the tests for 1.5 before I hit 65. I do hope he's right. I'd hate to lose my pump after it's made such a positive impact on my control and how I feel. I don't want to lose my CGM either, but it's more important to me that I keep the pump.
That's great, Meda-Kay; you have the tool you need and it must work because you have an amazing A1C! I didn't want to seem as though I knew for sure about Medicare denying pumps for Type 2's. I was just wondering as I'd heard it was harder. I would think the fact of your low c-peptide and the fact that you will have been on the pump for 7 years will help! Also having your doctor's support, as I've heard of doctors advocating with letters.
