I went down to Charlseton, SC to visit my daughter this past weekend to volunteer with the JDRF walk. The JDRF had their first "Walk to Cure" on Daniel Island. It was a GREAT success. I have had Diabetes for 52 years since the age of 3 and my Daughter was diagnosed in 2006 at the age of 23.
Anyways, The reason for this post is there was a rep for Omnipod there. We talked for a while and I asked about the smaller pod and the integration with the Dexcom. He said it will be out the first quarter of 2011.
So… that means…one site and it has a Dexcom too?? All integrated??? Will it have just one PDM or two??? My son is going on the pod in just a few weeks. He chose the pod because of the tubeless feature …I wanted it for him because of this future integration. Can they upgrade?? If they are on the “old” pod!? So many questions!!! LOL
when the local Insulet guys talked to us (the salesman and trainer) over the past month or two, they said the smaller pod would be out in the second half of 2010, and that the integration was “coming”
The talk so far has been two sites but an integrated PDM/Receiver for both of them. I don’t believe the technology is good enough yet to have both the CGM sensor and the insulin cannula close enough together to make a single site device of reasonable size. I personally don’t mind two sites (my Dex lasts nearly two weeks and O-Pod changes every 2 to 3 days so it doesn’t make sense to combine these to me). But I can’t wait to not have to carry around two devices to work with them!
Having worn the Dexcom for almost a full year, muy primary concern is accuracy of the Cex. I got readings almost 200 to 150 points off, and of course, the ultimate goal here is for the Omnipod to get this inrformation and deliiver an appropriate bolus…cant be done with this degree of inaccuracy!
I agree with Rebecca. Two sites on the body still, and one integrated PDM/receiver combo.
It’s my understanding that the PDM will look like a 2nd gen PDM, but where the “middle” button is (between the “status” and “select” buttons) will be a menu for selecting “CGM” or something like that.
I also think there is issue with the proximity of insulin and CGM sensor location if it were on one device…maybe someday though
While I think this goal would fantastic, I have issue with letting something that measures reactively make decisions on a proactive basis. I think the algorithm to do this would have to be crazy complex, and take in a nearly infinite (maybe not “infinite”, but a lot) amount of variables. For starters, the CGM is measuring interstitial BG and you are calibrating it from intra-arterial BG. This in itself is problematic (as you have witnessed with readings that are so highly incongruent). I think if there were a way to introduce the sensor intravenous or intra-arterially, the lag time and thus the reliability of these readings might be more useful in having the PDM make decisions for us. That idea has its own set of substantial issues though, not the least of which is the possibility of infection (when you have something breaking the surface of the skin and going directly into the blood stream, where an infection can much more easily permeate and in more aggressive instances, cause sepsis, etc). Once we get past that, other items that the algorithm cannot predict must be considered. For instance I like to start a bike ride at 125-175, decreasing my basal to -75 or -85%. But the CGM wouldn’t “know” that I was testing (and having a reading of 170) to make sure I was at an appropriate level to start a 3 or 4 hr bike ride, so it would take that reading of 170 and try to bolus. Anyway I’m digressing
I’d like to see integration of a single site and/or “decision making” capabilities, but I think we’ve got a long road to travel in order to get there.
I actually read a research article that tested this hypothesis and they found that the readings were not effected by being even under 1 inch apart. I wish I could remember what journal, etc. but…I know it was reputable…you may wish to go on Medline and check. If I get a chance I will check also. I still agree, that the major issue is the life of the 2 devices is quite different and it would be best if they are kept as 2 separate devices…unless they want to adjust the pricing to reflect shorter life of CGMS:)
I have only experienced the dexcom, but I have a close friend who has experience with the MM>…was almost worse in its accuracy. I am looking into the “Lifestyle Navigator” as we speak. Anyone have any experience?
I used the MM version when it first came out. I was not impressed. I know folks on here have had success w/ it though, so I’m sure it’s user preference just like any pump.
I use the navigator right now, and I really like it. I think it is MUCH more accurate than the MM ever was. I primarily use the navigator for trending arrows rather than as a “bible” of what my BG is. So while I’m out riding I can press the button and see if I’m holding steady, going down (need to take in more carbs) or even rising (need to ride harder
I also like the amount of sensor that goes on the body on the navigator (not much at all), especially compared to the giant “spear” of a device that went into me while on the MM :-/
I was the MM for three days and it didn’t even trend in the right directions for me. According to the mini-med my sugars were great those days, never dropped below 80 and topped at 140, unfortunately my blood sugar tests had me between 30 and 310 during that time. The Medtronic people blamed it on my probably calibrating at bad times but then when they downloaded it they said all my calibrations were fine. The MM CGM just didn’t work with my system. Dex isn’t perfect but I trust it nearly as much as my glucose meter and when I get a reading that’s really different between the glucose meter and the Dex I always recheck with another blood test and over half the time the Dex was right and the meter was wrong.
I think I may ask the RN educator to try both the Dex and Nav…will let you know how that goes. I know lots of folks like the Dex. All of the systems we have here in the states are the same technology. There is another type (dialysis type) available in Europe. Saw some of the data…sometimes more accurate…other times, not. Maybe some of the folks in Europe can address these issues as well.
For what it’s worth, it’s my understanding that the navigator is sent information every minute (so you get a continuous update of which direction you’re trending) and the Dex takes an update every 5 minutes and averages that data…For most this is probably not a huge issue.
I also like that the navigator uses the same freestyle test strips as my omnipod, so I don’t have to buy any different test strips for calibration purposes.
