Insulin And Glucose Feedback Loop
Are there any Insulin Pumps with continuous glucose sensors designed for long-term use?
I know that closed-loop feedback control would be so much better (tighter control on blood sugars) than what I am doing now. It would give me increased flexability for when and how much I eat, would automatically adjust for variation in exercise and just make living with diabetes a little less burdensome.
I’ve seriously been considering developing my own feedback control system (I have an electronics engineering background) if I could find a good glucose sensor. The real shame is that you don’t need a really accurate sensor to obtain significantly better glucose control than is possible with an open-loop system. I don’t know if the medical community doesn’t realize this, or if the test-strip manufactures are buying up all the glucose sensor patents and sitting on them or what is going on.
If anyone knows of a longterm continuous glucose sensor please let me know.
My daughter has the Medtronic Minimed Continuous Glucose Monitor and Pump. The sensor works for 3 days or 72 hours. Her best readings are in the first 60 hours or so then it starts to vary alot from finger pricks.
The sensor must be calibrated 2 hours after it is inserted and then every 12 hours after that. If the wearer needs to treat a hypoglycemic episode she is supposed to do a finger prick to get the most accurate reading.
She really likes using the CGM but Minimed is having a hard time keeping up with reorder of supplies. We have waited 2 months now for a re-order.
Unfortunately it is not a closed loop system but it does indicate on the face of her pump which direction her sugars are trending and that is incredibly helpful, especially at night.
The only other note is that the readings from the interstitial fluid of her abdomen seems to run about 5 minutes behind the BGs she gets from her fingertips so if there is any doubt about readings she must double check with a fingerprick. She uses almost as many strips as she used to but feels she has much tighter control.
Minimed is working on a closed loop system but it is several years away. They are also working on a sensor that lasts 5 to 7 days instead of 3. As it is this is probably the best way to live with diabetes but it is very pricey.
Diabetes, Type 1, Type 2, Glucose, Insulin
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Closed-loop system improves glucose control.(METABOLIC DISORDERS): An article from: Family Practice News $9.95 This digital document is an article from Family Practice News, published by International Medical News Group on March 1, 2010. The length of the article is 874 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: Closed-loop system impr… |
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