One of my friends called them and they will be doing trials in December.
What do you think about this? I wonder if it can work etc. and if it is safe to be in a trial with this. I thought it was interesting that only 20% of our insulin injections whether via shot or pump actually get absorbed and that this is ok... I wonder how much insulin we really use/need then?
Cool idea. No needles or cannulas.
You have to do the research figure out what stage the trails are in, and how they are designed... IMHO. But far as I can figure the worst case, you keep your pen/needle handy in case it does not work well and you start eventually pushing towards DKA. At some point you reach that line, you abandon the patch and just shoot regardless. Same as if the insulin didn't bring down whatever number. After 3 hours, you take another shot at it -ggg- literally.
But guaranteed the study will account for that they'll have to as a safety protocol... hey, ooopsey 300 patients died of DKA in the study phase, not likely.
Couldn't care less, UNLESS, unless it guarantees better readings, fewer complications causally. Because its administered through the skin, that somehow causes less (pick something) capillary eye problems, less kidney protein, better nerve function to the stomach, feet, something meaningful as a direct byproduct.... then, I'd consider it.
But just to avoid the shot... could not care less!
Stuart, do you think a means other than shots/pumps could cause less complications? That is an interesting idea I have not thought of.
will it only take 3 hrs to go into dka without your normal insulin dosage? I thought it would take longer... my friend thought they are going to do a control and I explained to him that people would die at some point if they weren't receiving their insulin through the patch.. lol
you really don't care... you wouldn't want a less invasive maybe more comfortable way to take your insulin? That is really important to me and maybe the ultrasound method would be slower and more like our pancreas was, or is it faster at times.. I don't know- I have to read more about it. Someone was telling me a pump with fast acting is more like a normal pancreas than the long acting basal insulins are.
Anyway, even though they are only using type 2 in the next phase I think, I'm going to investigate it and see if it is a possibility as well as ask my endo what he thinks about it.
Hi Don,
I think so too...
I think it looks like a good alternative to a pump for me maybe as I can't tolerate anything continually in my body such as a cannula, iv line, needle etc. no matter how "small". And of course you would need your shots just in case when in a trial or otherwise.
I would be very relieved if I never have to give myself a shot or a finger stick again so I'm glad someone is trying to work on other means to take insulin than injections of some sort.
yes.. they seem to have done quite a few trials already to see how this will work so I guess that is a good sign.
I looked at the video on the site. Sounds like a transdermal pump patch designed to deliver basal only. Bruce K. Redding, the CEO and inventor
( He was kind of cute, Y'all LOL I am still single) says that the next trial of this will be with type 2's; and that it is designed to to deliver basal only.("That's all they need.", he said.) My understanding, from what I read and heard,is that the transdermal patch is being developed for the type 2 population, oarticularly the elderly who may forget to give the basal dosages, and do not like injections.Thus, it does sounds like a great alternative for them.The text says it is applicable for type 1 and type 2 diabetics; but we( type Ones) would probably still have to use injections for the meal dosages. There is some kind of remote interface where the medical team does the scheduling and programming of the basal dosages.. It is designed for those who want to according to Mr. Redding "set it and forget it", and it is the doctor or medical team who does the setting..
The basic intent of this device, in my opinion, is to increase compliance with basal dosing for type 2's.. I think that's it.Take a look at the link and the short video and tell me what YOU think, guys.
God bless,
Brunetta
Meh. There's a tube involved. I'll stick with my Omnipod.
Hi Kimberly, really? There’s a tube? My friend who emailed me about it said it was ultrasound & there were no needles etc. which is why i was excited about it. Oh well I guess we will have to start a ruckus to get someone to design something that is truly comfortable.
I’m upset 
Ellie
Thanks for being so thorough Brunetta. I guess maybe it wouldn’t be as useful for type 1. But my friend spoke with Bruce or someone else & he said it would be good for type 1 also. I read that it gets into the skin by enlarging the pores so I don’t understand why it needs a tube?
Don’t these people get that we don’t want tubes & needles in us 24/7???
At least I don’t.
I read that about the forgetting basal doses too but. It a out your team setting the schedule. I don’t want my team stating my schedule for sure. But I thought this could be Pump like with fast acting for type 1’s.
U should call and talk with Bruce- maybe he is single??? Lol.
Looks like it - the website clearly shows the "insertion" site hooked to a pump through a tube. I'm guessing the only real difference between this and a Minimed or Animas pump is that there is no needle/catheter involved.
Right , Kimberly.It is basically a pump that uses a kind of bandaid type patch to deliver Humalog(Insulin Lispro) in alternating suquare wave and normal wave dosing patterns, through the skin's ultra-sound enlarged pores.Just a patch instead of what the site calls "Invasive": a traditional infusion set. It is a largish pump, to hold the sometimes greater amount of insulin needed by type 2's; without a needle-based infusion set. The site text said it could be used for "scheduled"(?) basal and bolus dosings. No trials with type 1 groups planned at this time.
God bless,
Brunetta
I just finished talking on the phone to Cornelius Pitts, the Clinical/Pharmaceutical director with Transdermal Specialties. He says that they are not targeting the type 1 population at this time; but they are looking for Type 2 insulin-dependent diabetics for the 2013 study, which I think is in Phiadelphia. To enroll, you can call his phone number listed on the site. He asked How I found out about the company, and I informed him about Tudiabetes. He said he would look at our site.
God Bless,
Brunetta
To be painfully direct, NOPE... couldn't care less from the insulin delivery aspect. I know with 100% certainty, it has been delivered using a shot, I can see the shot's empty. There is no delivery error, no question on any level using a syringe.
Getting absorbed, scar tissue those are constants regardless of the delivery method. Put an infusion set in the wrong place... -shrug- if this patch bypasses the question of full absorption...
Pumps deliver whatever it put into them, saline, gasoline, long acting insulin. You raise an interesting point. Could control be achieved exclusively with long acting.... hummngh?
stuart, look at my last reply on the second page.. I talked to the clinical director. the ultrasound enlarges the pores so that the insulin can get in "Transdermally", maybe circumventing the absoprtion issues. It is not designed for those using bolus delivery for meals, not for us as type ones. We are not in the picture for this device at this time. For some type 2's that I know, they are so scared of syringes that anyway to get the insulin into them is better than not taking the insulin basal or bolus at all, absorption issues non-withstanding.That is the reality of it. Transdermal Specialitiesis targeting those type 2's who fear injections/needles/syringes/ anything that pierces the skin; and are out of control because of it. A significant market.
God bless.
Brunetta
It is interesting that even your phone call to him made it sound type 2 focused, and yet on the products page it does have a listing for type 1 diabetes (midway down, chart, last column on far right, listed as Insulin patch U-150) and the functionality of the pump patch lists both basal and bolus increments (and as I side note, I've never seen bolus parameters listed as a u/min measurement...1.0 to 4.0 u/min?).
In any case, as others have mentioned, I will stick w/ my omnipod for now, but the technology is very interesting (partially because I teach x-ray technology and work with other professors who teach sonography (ultrasound) technology...so the meshing of both that and diabetes resonates with me :)
Thanks for investigating this for us Brunetta!
that's what I thought, so it could be used for long acting for us then maybe, or maybe if it works threy will develop one for that will work for us also, we can only hope for that....I'm ok with the shots but I certainly would prefer this to shots if it is reliable.
that's what I think Bradford, I'm hoping this could be something that will develop into an improvement in the way we take insulin maybe... and whoever my friend spoke with told him that this will be good for type 1 also even though the upcoming trial is for type 2.
you're right with a syringe you know for sure, and even a pen is better than a pump in that aspect overall, but sometimes I have had insulin spilling out it seems and I'm not sure why, in my arm it never works as well also I've noticed.
according to their website the requirement is only 20% absorption so I wonder if that is true for all of the current delivery methods and why that is.
I am starting to get scar tissue I think here and there with pens after only three months. I don't think the pain of a pump would work for me as I couldn't tolerate the cgm even and I have heard of one friend of a friend who had 3 pump failures with 3 different pumps- she ended up in dka each time so even if I thought I could tolerate it that would be a big worry for me.
So far I seem to be doing ok with the pens, but an ultrasound method that worked might be ideal for me.
Did I raise that question? I was talking about using only short acting in a pump- that is what my educator said they do for type 1- if you use a pump the short acting acts as your basal as well as your bolus and you can adjust it throughout the day according to your needs and activity. That part of it I think I would like maybe.