Rubber Armor Protectors for Minimed?

Type 1 and LADA
#1

Does anybody make cell phone or camera style rubber armor for insulin pumps - in my case a Minimed 723? I've scoured the net and nothing comes close.

For as much as we wear them, they are bound to get banged around and dropped from time to time. Seems to me that as much as I've read about people getting cracks in theirs all the time that this either a no-brainer, nobody has thought of it yet, or there is some engineering reason why it can't be done? Especially for people with active lifestyles and the ever growing family of pumpers their might be enough demand to make this commercially viable.

I've seen various neoprene cases but they are not form fitting and I don't see how they'd be all that convenient when you have to take it out, put it back in, out, in, ad nauseum.

For you active folks, what do you use?

Thanks,
Tom

#2

I agree. I use the Minimed Revel (1.8 ml reservoir) and would LOVE something like this that protects it from getting banged around. What I do now is cover it in a decorative skin (available at Skinit.com) and also put a screen protector on the screen (to keep it from getting scratched). I am pretty careful with it but when you wear something 24/7, accidents are going to happen. I am very active, so would purchase a rubber skin (especially if it has a screen protector incorporated into it!) without hesitation.

#3

I also use a Medtronic 723. Since my insurance company will not pay for another pump until I've had this one for 5 years, I am doing what MBP is doing - a decorative skin and screen protector on the screen. I also slip my pump into a pump pouch, which has a carbiner clip. I bought it online at insulin pump packs for you .com. It isn't neoprene, but material helps to protect it some.

#4

I was going to get a skin to make it purty, but what I'm after is something like the form fitting rubber aftermarket cover my wife has on her crackleberry. I wonder how many pumps are in use?

#5

Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. I know someone was able to get a small Neoprene pouch from Body Glove (I'll see if I can find the link), but it was originally designed for a small digital camera. I am kind of shocked that Minimed doesn't offer something.

#6

This is what your looking for but the problem is the risk involved with supplying the product...The MM pump is a electrical device and needs to dissipate heat or it will become heat saturated damaging internal components and the insulin. I can easily produce the product but all it would take is one bad review from MM and the product would be a failure. Other pump company's have the rubber skins but for some reason the MiniMed is off limits, I'm not sure why.


#7

Not being an engineer I don't understand the complexities involved nor the proper questions that would have to be answered to create a viable product. Maybe heat could be dissipated properly by only having the edges & corners "armored" with a thick cushioning material to protect against impact and a "skin" type material to protect against abrasion damage. Another issue would be how to integrate it with a clip-type device for users who prefer that type of device for attaching it to a belt or clothing.

Thanks for the insightful thoughts. Now if only I could get the alarms to sound louder without shelling out $3,000 for the MySentry.

#8

I have no idea if heat would be a big problem, was just using it for a example. The market is so small

it's hard to justify some pump products. Everyone using a MM pump should ask for the gel cover I'm sure

they are aware that their competition has one.

I started wearing Hearing aids because I cannot hear my MM pump. If your experiencing hearing lose at

higher frequency's it's hard to hear the MM pump. $3,000 is only about 1/3 the cost of a good pair of HA's. I cannot hear my pump most of the time so the MySentry would only help me at home...I would still like to have one.

#9

#10

Tom check my reply to you at the "Why you love your pump" thread

#11

According to HSBC Bank, the insulin pump market in 2005 was at $900,000,000 and expected to grow at an annual rate of around 15%. Marketwire estimates that the total global market for all insulin delivery devices (syringes, pens, pumps, etc) was valued at $7.4 billion in 2010 and expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 6%. The American share was $2.8 billion. The same report states that according to the JDRF there are approximately 400,000 Type Is who use insulin pumps. The report also states that Medtronic's market share is 20% and that they are expected to invest $100 million in R&D. The link to these data is here.

Big numbers, eh?