This Diabetes Blog Week thing is fun. I am enjoying writing about these different topics, I hope you are enjoying them, too. Today's topic is creating a fantasy diabetes device. As much as I'd love to say a cure, or an artificial pancreas, I think those go against the spirit of the topic.
There are so many things to wish for from prickless blood glucose meters, to an insulin pump that can automatically detect what insulin you need without any user interface. However, what I would love to see is an affordable adhesive CGM, that "talks" via Bluetooth to your insulin pump, or any other Bluetooth device.
The first part of this device is the adhesive CGM. Building on the the concept of a prickless blood glucose test, I'd like to see something like a band-aid that can be applied to any part of the skin that continually reads your blood sugar, ideally your actual blood sugar levels and not the interstitial fluid that CGMs currently test.
The second part is that this is a Bluetooth device, and make insulin pumps Bluetooth capable. By having your insulin pump able to read your glucose levels you can see what your sugars are and you could adjust insulin levels appropriately. The Bluetooth capability would also make it easier to transmit your data to your computer or mobile device so that you are able to track trends and see how you are managing your diabetes.
Above all else, though, and this is where the "fantasy" part comes in....make it affordable. Current CGMs on the market are not affordable for anyone unless you have insurance coverage. Most insurance (at least that I have seen) do not cover it CGM supplies, despite their obvious benefits.
We can all dream, right?
Excellent post and also, I want one.
ReplyDeleteI want one too :-)
ReplyDelete