Dexcom Open Choice upgrade shipping soon

At the end of April I posted about the Dexcom Open Choice model. I was fortunate to get a loaner model for a short while. Since then I've been waiting impatiently to get the software update.

Dexcom had been offering a new system for an upgrade price. But I really didn't want to spend even more money on my third system upgrade in 15 months. Yes each of these have introduced useful new features, but knowing that they were going to allow you to upgrade for free made me want to wait. Apparently the delay was in getting FDA approval to allow this type of home update for an existing device.

Last week Dexcom contacted me and asked me to try out their software update process. They sent me two CDs with a new system manual and a new version of their DM system software. The upgrade also came with several pieces of paper including an important letter from Dexcom marketing with several steps that you need to complete before starting. I cover those below.

In a nutshell, the software update works well. I am now the owner of a Dexcom Open Choice model and I've switched to the WaveSense Keynote meter full-time. Goodnight OneTouch and the terrible cable (meant to sound like Goodnight Moon). From start to finish the whole process took about 15 minutes, including the download of about 3 weeks of reading from my receiver.

Dexcom marketing has told me that they're going to send upgrade kits to Dexcom Seven customers in order of purchase. Those of you who first bought the Seven will get these first, and folks who bought in February will get them last. They're going to send a letter out next week explaining the process.

There are a few gotchas to this update and I'll explain these as I show you some of the upgrade screens below. I'd recommend reading to the end of this post before starting.

You should:

• Download all the readings from your receiver (it'll save time later).
  
• Get the transmitter serial number from the receiver screen that's used to change it. It will be something like JTJLR, and you can see it without changing it. During the software upgrade process your receiver is completely reset. So you'll have to re-enter this number. You'll also have to restart your sensor, or change to a new one.
  
• Make sure your receiver is fully charged. There are dire warnings about disconnecting during the upgrade and the process does drain the batteries some. If your receiver battery went dead in the middle of the update I think this would be a bad thing.
  

You'll have to connect to the internet to do the update. As part of the upgrade Dexcom gives you a keycode that you'll enter to get the new software. The value is similar to 2ABD-E512-3210 (this is not valid).

When you install the new version of the DM software and run it, there's now a new option under Tools menu in the upper right.



After you connect your receiver the update process starts and you'll see a screen with six steps on it, you cannot disconnect your receiver until all steps are completed.

At step 3 you're prompted to enter the code and the new receiver software is brought to your PC.



You can then download all your data readings from the receiver or just skip this step if you're downloaded beforehand

The receiver update then starts.



Several minutes later the update is done and you now have an Open Choice Dexcom model.

You'll need to re-enter the transmitter serial number and insert a new sensor (Dexcom's advice) or just restart the one you're using (my advice). After the usual 2-hour startup period you can now calibrate using whatever meter you wish. My YouTube video shows how this is done (skip forward to about 3:10).



I did this update five days ago and I've been using my restarted sensor since then. Being able to calibrate with the meter of my choice is a wonderful feature, but I've even more excited that Dexcom can now issue future software changes that we can make at home.

Note: I currently own shares in Dexcom. I try to make sure this ownership doesn't influence what I say about their products and technology.

Labels: Dexcom, Dexcom Open Choice, software, upgrade

posted by Bernard @ 7:37 AM 3 Comments Links to this post  

Dexcom Open Choice

My local Dexcom rep kindly arranged to give me a loaner of the new Dexcom Open Choice system. The main difference with this system is how it's calibrated - you can use any meter and enter the blood glucose values by hand.

I carried around both Dexcom receivers, the Dexcom 7 and the Dexcom Open Choice, for over a week. In this test I set them both to read from the same transmitter, so I could directly compare the results. Here's a short video that shows how to calibrate with the new system.

Below I've also got some details comments on the pros and cons of the changes.



I think this small change is a major improvement to the Dexcom system. It gives you the freedom to use your favorite blood glucose meter, so you don't have to worry about getting insurance coverage for two sets of test strips. The WaveSense Keynote meter that I used is extremely accurate, so I hope to benefit with better control and tighter A1Cs.

Dexcom updated their software so that the modal view is available once again. You can now see the reading graphs for up to nine days of readings. I've used this to see problems that happen at specific times each day. It was the only thing I missed from the first version of the Dexcom software.

I have two minor issues with the new features.

First when inputting the glucose value you use the up/down arrows to change the existing value shown by the Dexcom. The scroll speed for those arrows is much too fast. Most of the time the current value is going to be close to the reading from your meter. So you need to change the value only a little. The scrolling is so fast that it's only useful if the difference is over 100 mg/dL. Dexcom please reduce the speed here.

The other issue is even less important, it's to do with the location of the calibration screen. After you've removed and replaced a sensor the first thing you need to do is tell the receiver. You use the sensor insert screen that only appears when the receiver isn't already connected to a transmitter. Dexcom placed this screen after the calibration screen. It should be placed before the calibration screen. Most users will not be calibrating without a sensor in place.

The Dexcom Open Choice is being shipped to all new customers. Existing customers can pay an upgrade (about $200 currently). Dexcom is waiting for FDA approval to provide a download capability for software upgrades. The hope to get this approval by July and will then provide the upgrade for free to existing customers.

Update: I received the software upgrade from Dexcom so I could give them feedback on how it worked. Read more on my post about the Dexcom Open Choice upgrade. They will start shipping the upgrade to all Dexcom Seven users soon.

Note: I currently own shares in Dexcom, I try not to let this ownership influence what I say about the company or its products.

Labels: comparison, Dexcom, Dexcom Open Choice, Dexcom SEVEN, videos

posted by Bernard @ 9:43 PM 10 Comments Links to this post