The Newest Tech in Diabetes Management

Gadgets and electronics dominate our lives. But they can also help those living with diabetes manage the disease.

By Susan B. Sloane, BS, RPh, CDE

One of the most exciting advances in diabetes is the closed loop insulin pump. Let me try to explain how that system works in general. Patients with diabetes on insulin, especially those entirely insulin dependent on it, constantly have to make decisions that impact their overall health and well-being.

Diabetes is certainly, by definition a “take home” disease requiring patient education that is thorough and constant. It is postulated that in general patients with diabetes make over 300 decisions daily about their self-care.^[1] Patients entirely dependent on insulin make hundreds more. It is no wonder that the term “Diabetes Burnout” exists. Making regular everyday decisions is mentally taxing.^[2]

Enter technology into the diabetes world. The is the game changer. Many patients have questions concerning the newest “closed loop” insulin pumps, and what decisions they can make for patients. A closed loop insulin pump, in simple terms, is a system that combines an insulin pump with a CGM (continuous glucose monitor), having the ability to have these two systems engage or “talk to” each other, using technology.

The biggest auto adjustment the system can make involves the ability to add or subtract insulin when blood sugars are trending high or low. If the CGM sees that the blood sugars on a person are trending down quickly, it has the ability to “tell” the insulin pump to suspend or stop insulin delivery. This one move can be lifesaving to a patient.

There are other functions of the system including adding insulin when blood sugars may be trending dangerously high. At this time the system cannot account for food eaten during the day in a way that avoids the patient having to give themselves a meal bolus. The system can help calculate insulin: carb ratios by graphing trends, etc.

There is also some new technology that involves combining a health management app with an insulin pen injector (for meal blousing) that helps calculate mealtime insulin dosing that is personalized for you, based on your personal settings. The InPen keeps track of mealtime insulin doses and knows how much insulin is still active in your system. This handy little device will then recommend mealtime doses for you and will also warn you if your insulin is expired or being stored outside of the recommended temperature range. The InPen is designed to be used with either Humolog or Novolog insulin.

Taking technology one step further are products designed to make even more decisions for patients on insulin by being able to “see” what is eaten and adjust dosing to keep blood sugars in range automatically. The Bionic Pancreas owned by Beta Bionics, and Bigfoot Biomedical are working on a more automated system that makes even more, if not all of the decisions for a patient.

The path to a cure for diabetes still eludes researchers, but it hasn’t stopped us in that search. Diabetes treatment has become more advanced and continues to advance every day because of dedicated men and women all over the world.