I blogged last week about the approval of the Medingo Solo insulin pump by the FDA. This week Medingo is showing it at the AADE conferenceand they've finally unveiled more details at the Medingo Solo website solo4you.com.
While the technical specifications are not available, they do have this video that shows some of the features.
The PDA part (Solo Remote) comes with different colored skins. There are four parts to the Solo pump itself: Solo Remote; Reservoir; Pump Base; and Cradle.
The pump base is described as a '3-month insulin Pump Base that stores all your pump parameters'. Medingo says it last 90 days. Medingo provides you with a spare pump base, which will make replacement much less of a problem.
The reservoir holds up to 200 units of insulin and has a single mercury-free battery (grey circle to the upper right of the picture above). So each time you change the reservoir you get a new battery, it's not clear how recyclable it is. The cradle is the part that's attached to you, it's got the cannula. According to the site, a bad insertion can be fixed by just replace the cradle without losing much insulin. Changing the 'set' means replacing the reservoir and cradle. It's not clear how waterproof the base/reservoir are, so you need to detach these if you're swimming.
The Solo Remote has a color screen. It downloads settings to the pump base so that it will operate to some degree without the remote. The pump base has buttons (highlighted in orange in the picture) that allow bolusing without the remote. I assume this is like other pumps where you set a predetermined bolus amount and press a certain number of times to get a bolus of a certain size.
The Solo website does have a page to sign up for "Size Up Solo" demo kit. I've already done this, just be aware that the address entry fields are front to back and you'll be all set.
I'll update this post as I learn more. There are no posted specifications for the Medingo Solo system that I can find, from the video it looks very slim but I'll suspend judgment until I can get a copy of the user manual.
From what I've seen online, this looks like an improvement in usability and design over other pumps. I think we're going to see more of these insulin patch pumps over the next few years.
I can't find any pictures of this device, but there are various announcements today that the FDA has given formal clearance to Medingo Ltd to market its Solo MicroPump in the US.
On the Medingo site, this device is described as having "two parts: a miniature insulin dispensing patch and a remote control, which allows you to completely personalize and guide your patch for your body’s insulin needs."
I note that Prof. David Klonoff of the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology is listed as a member of their scientific advisory board. And Amy Tenderich has a post from 2007 that contains about as much information as is available today.
From the barebones information it's hard to tell if this is just a variant on the Insulet OmniPod or something very different. Please let me know if you're aware of any other information.
Update: Medingo will be unveiling the Solo MicroPump at the AADE meeting in early August. They also plan to launch their Solo website at that time. According to Craig Crease, Medingo's Director of Sales, they want to hold off on other information to "create an element of surprise". As I learn more I'll post it here.
Further update: I've posted separately with pictures and details of the Medingo Solo.
I was sitting in the dentist's office this afternoon and looking at some tweets, when this one from Manny caught my eye.
It pointed to his page about the news that Smiths-Medical is getting out of the diabetes market and taking the Cozmo insulin pump off the market.
My jaw almost dropped. I've been a happy Cozmo insulin pump user for about 18 months and I had planned to continue using them. Smiths-Medical distributed and supported the Cozmo pump. They announced today their "intent to stop selling the Deltec Cozmo® insulin pump, and manage an orderly, carefully controlled exit from the diabetes business over time."
Smiths-Medical has created a special web page with all the details about this announcement. It also contains answers to a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs). Basically those of us with pumps will be supported until the end of our warranty and Smiths-Medical will continue to provide supplies and support for the Cozmo pump.
As Kerri pointed out in her post on the announcement, this wasn't a big market for Smiths-Medical and it required a large support organization. So perhaps it was inevitable.
I've enjoyed and benefited from the features and flexibility of the Cozmo pump and I'm sorry to see it disappear from the market. We're now left with three main players in the insulin pump market: Minimed Medtronic; Animas; and Insulet Omnipod. I'd really like to see much more competition.
Perhaps some new ideas will happen as a results of Amy's 2009 DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge. I'd sure like to see another choice when it comes to insulin pumps.
We finally have a replacement wireless meter for the Minimed Paradigm insulin pumps. The new model is the OneTouch UltraLink meter.
It uses existing OneTouch Ultra test strips, with 5 seconds before you have a reading. The meter lets you flag readings as before or after meal so you can get these averages. It stores up to 500 readings and runs on 2 AAA batteries. For more details read the 90-page user's manual (PDF).
The meter is now being shipped with new Medtronic Paradigm insulin pumps. Those of you who already have a Paradigm pump will have to wait a little longer.
... we plan on sending U.S. customers who own a MiniMed Paradigm 512, 712, 515, or 715 insulin pump a OneTouch® UltraLink™ Meter at no charge later this year.
Minimed gives you a way to find out when you'll get your meter.
This meter is only available to US customers. Outside the US, the replacement meter will be from Bayer. Currently there's no word on the release date for the Bayer wireless meter.
If you have, or want to use, the OneTouch diabetes management software you'll need the latest version (2.3.2). You'll also need to download the newest meter driver to your PC so the UltraLink can be recognized.
Today the two companies announced that they will work together to integrate Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring into Animas insulin pumps.
"The new technology will enable the Animas® pump to receive glucose readings and display this information on the pump’s color screen. Users will have access to real-time glucose readings and trending in addition to receiving alerts for low and high glucose readings. Having real-time readings displayed on the pump screen will not only allow users to make more timely adjustments to their insulin delivery – it will eliminate a separate receiver, reducing the amount of equipment required to use CGM and the pump system."
According to the news report this should be available in 2009 or early 2010. And again it's a non-exclusive agreement, leaving Dexcom free to work with other pump makers.
"Medingo is developing a disposable insulin pump that is significantly smaller than the leading pumps on the market. In contrast to current pumps, it resembles a patch rather than a pacemaker. The product has one main competitor, Insulet Inc. (Nasdaq:PODD). Insulet broke through the market for us, and we believe that we have the better product. It's half the volume, and discrete, so it can be worn even with a close-fitting shirt. We also think that the user interface is better."
I've mentioned the super bolus before on this blog. This is a technique that only works for people who are using an insulin pump.
According to John Walsh's original note about the super bolus:
A Super Bolus is created when some of the basal insulin delivery is stopped or partially reduced, and delivered instead as additional bolus insulin on top of a normal carb or correction bolus. This shift of basal to bolus insulin creates a larger bolus that can have more impact in situations where more insulin is needed quickly. These situations may include but are not limited to covering high glycemic index foods, larger intakes of carbohydrate, and speeding the return of an elevated blood sugar to normal.
The super bolus boosts the effectiveness of a regular bolus by taking some of your basal insulin and delivering it early. For example, if your basal rate is 0.7 units per hour, you can temporarily turn off the basal delivery for one hour and then take the 0.7 units immediately. The trick is how you take that insulin. If you took it as a bolus then it would affect your insulin on board totals, so instead you take it by using the prime features that you'd normally use to fill the cannula after inserting a new infusion set.
I shot three short videos that show how to do a super bolus on different insulin pumps. This gives you a chance to compare these pumps in action and see how to use this useful technique which helps correct high blood sugars a little faster.
Here's how to take a super bolus with a Minimed 512 insulin pump.
Here's how to do it with an Animas 2020 insulin pump.
And here's how to do it on a Cozmo 1800 insulin pump.
No, it's not a new Sam Beckett play. But today's the day my new Cozmo pump should arrive.
I'm so excited, it feels a little like my birthday with a really cool, geeky, present.
Once it's up and running I'll put up some video showing it in action. From trying one out in September I know that this pump can be customized a great deal. And I'm hoping to really take advantage of that.
I was baking some over the weekend and had lovely Irish brown soda bread as a result. Here's a picture of the results.
I can't easily get the right flour here to make this from scratch. So this is from an Odlum's mix that easy to put together. And in the US, there are several online sites that sell it.
I'm about to replace my out-of-warranty insulin pump. It's over 18 months old (replacing a Minimed 512 that broke down after 30 months) and I've worn it 24 hours a day for a total of at least 13,000 hours. Here's a picture of the little guy.
And for all that time my plastic pancreas has helped me control my blood sugars and live a closer to normal life. Trust me, it's no substitute for a real working pancreas.
For something that I've worn for that long, it's in good condition and doesn't look like it needs replacement. Insulin pump makers generally provide a 4-year warranty with their pump. And when the warranty's up I want to get a new model so I can take advantage of better features and (hopefully) the even better control.
Next week I should be getting my latest model, a Cozmo 1800. I promise to post some videos of its features and let you know what I think about it.
Insulin pumps are just one form of better treatment. There is no cure for diabetes. Yet.
The diabetes365 project is veryactive with new photos being added every day.
Note: When a pump is replaced because it broke, the replacement pump is typically a refurbished one. And the pump company doesn't restart the warranty clock with the replacement. So in my case, the replacement pump was only warrantied for an additional 18 months. This actually works to my advantage because I can now replace it without having to wait a total of 4 years.
Recently I was given a loaner Animas 2020 insulin pump to evaluate. My current Minimed 512 is out of warranty and is due for replacement. I evaluated the Animas and a Cozmo 1800 pump before deciding on a replacement that worked for me.
While I had the Animas I took some video that demonstrates how to use the Animas to take a bolus. I hope it gives you some idea of how this pump is to use.
Please note that in the video the screen flickers. In real life I found the screen bright and easy to read even in direct sunlight.
I really liked the built in food database that helps you when bolusing for meals. The Animas lets you bolus in 0.05 unit increments and set basal rates in 0.025 unit increments. So it's great for anyone who's really sensitive to insulin. It's fully waterproof, the O-rings on the battery cover and the insulin reservoir really emphasize this. It also delivers the insulin boluses very quickly compared to my old Minimed. And despite the bright screen it doesn't seem to drain the single AA battery too quickly.
On the down side. I didn't like the speed at which the up and down arrows worked. The numbers scroll extremely quickly and it's hard to stop at exactly the right spot. I also missed seeing the carb information on the summary screen that's shown just before you get a chance to take a bolus. The history on the pump is very insulin centric, with no information about carbohydrate consumption or blood glucose values. I also wish the daily summary showed the ratio of meal boluses to correction boluses. Finally the accompanying software has a very dated feel, the reports are pretty basic and there is no data export capability.
Even though I was just trying out the pump, Animas was very supportive any time I had a question. This was very refreshing when compared to some recent experiences I had with Minimed.
In the end, I chose the Cozmo 1800 pump and look forward to starting on it early next week.
To control my type 1 diabetes, I use an insulin pump instead of taking injections.
Before each meal I use the pump to take additional insulin to cover the carbohydrates that are in the meal. The rest of the day (the whole 24 hours), the insulin pump delivers a small background dose (basal) of insulin.
And that's what normally happens for me. But this morning I was woken abruptly at 2:50 AM by a loud beeping and buzzing.
My insulin pump was displaying the error message No Delivery, which meant that it wasn't delivering insulin to me.
So I:
Get out of bed to capture this photo.
Get rid of the error message on the pump.
Take additional insulin to cover my blood glucose level (around 220 mg/dL).
Drink lots of water.
30 minutes later I'm back in bed asleep. Unlike my diabetes, which never sleeps.
Today I'm at home in bed. I've already slept for most of the morning.
Cold? Flu? Stomach bug? Nope, this time (for a change) it's really due to diabetes.
I ate a relatively carb free meal last night. When I woke up at 1 AM with my mouth like sawdust thinks immediately didn't feel right. My blood glucose was 301 mg/dL. So I dutifully bolused, adding an extra 15% to the dose because correcting those super highs definitely takes more insulin. I even used a Super Bolus to move some of my basal delivery forward. Drank about 20 ounces of water and went back to sleep.
Woke up again around 4 AM. Mouth still sandy. Blood glucose had dropped to 258. Clearly all was not right with my insulin delivery. So I took a correction shot using an insulin, ripped out my infusion set and replaced it. And added some additional units of insulin. Having my Dexcom gives me more freedom to slightly overdose because it will wake me (or my wife) if I go too low. And downed another 16 ounces or so of water.
Woke to the alarm at 6:15. Tested and it was...246. What's going on?? At this stage I'd taken almost half my normal daily dose between the hours of 1 AM and 4:15 AM. Looked at my new infusion set and it had blood in it. So ripped that one out and replaced it. And drank more water.
Note: Drinking a lot of water when my blood sugar is high is something I learned many years ago. It helps your body reduce the sugar concentration in your bloodstream and it eases the strain on your kidneys of taking the sugar out of your system. Plus high blood sugars give you cotton/sawdust/sandy mouth and you just need water. But don't stop at just one glass.
Looking at my Dexcom, my blood sugar had been above 240 since before midnight (sometimes a lot above). I felt lousy. So replaced my infusion set again and overdosed slightly again and went back to bed.
No breakfast, high blood sugars and feeling exhausted definitely put me on the candidate list for a sick day. I managed to sleep from 9:30 till noon and feel a lot better. Having blood sugars under 150 is priceless.
Moral of the story. Sometimes diabetes just wears you down. Now if I hadn't been using an insulin pump I might have been better off in this case. But this kind of stuff only happens may once every two years or so. So I'll take it over constant shots.
My aging Minimed 512 is due for replacement in September. This time, I'm planning to evaluate up to three models before deciding on the right one for me.
And tomorrow, I'm going to be fitted with a Cozmo 1800 insulin pump for a trial run. I'll be wearing it for a week or two with saline and testing it out.
What I've already heard about the Cozmo from friends is that it's a little bulky but very easy to customize.
I've also asked for the software that goes with it. And I'll blog about my impressions with both.
Because I don't see the software as an add-on for the insulin pump. It's an integral part. After all, what use would your iPod shuffle be if you didn't have iTunes? Probably you could use it as a door stop. Otherwise it wouldn't be worth all that much.
I'll post tomorrow about how the 'training' and first priming goes for me.
I know this story has been on the wires for the last few days, how a company called SemBiosys has been able to produce (human recombinant) insulin from safflowers.
Then I see tonight that even Business Week is excited about the development. Look at what it might do to their stock price.
Think about the increased demand for insulin, because if you believe the numbers quoted by SemBiosys that demand will more than double in the next five years.
I think what everyone in marketplace may be overlooking is that Insulinisnotacure.
I think that as long as the 'market' continues to get excited about these developments, it's not thinking about how to get rid of this terrible disease.
I don't want more insulin, or cheaper insulin, or purer insulin. I don't want insulin.
Sometimes I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I demand a lot of myself and expect it from others. I'm telling you this because maybe I just have unrealistic expectations.
In September my current insulin pump (Minimed 512) will be 4 years old. At that stage it will be out of warranty and I can get a new pump and expect that insurance will cover most of it.
Insulin pumps are truly a marvel of technology. This is a small pager-sized device that I will wear 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It helps me to keep my blood glucose levels close to normal and it's something that I'll probably actually use and interact with at least eight times a day, every day.
So why are pump companies making it so hard to try one out for a short while? Yes, I can read the instruction manual and get some feeling for how the pump will behave and feel. But that's not the same as wearing the thing and using it for a week or so.
My original plan was to contact a few pump makers and ask them for a one or two week loaner. I'd fill it with a saline solution and wear it together with my old pump for that period. That way I could gauge its accuracy and usability and see if it was right for me.
So far I've contacted three different companies. One (Cozmo) has told me they don't have a loaner program. And the other two claim to be working on it, but I'm not holding my breath.
Pump companies (Minimed, Animas, Cozmo, and others) - WAKE UP. These are complex devices that are essentially extension of our bodies and our brains. There is no way I'm going to purchase a new one without trying it out first.
I don't want a 30-day money-back guarantee. I want to be able to try out the pump, with its software for a week or two. I want to know how it will work for me.
Will I be able to use it when I'm exercising? What are the insulin on board calculations like? How easy is it to bolus? What do I need to do to set a temporary basal? Can I easily calculate meal requirements? What kind of extended bolus options are there, and can I use them?
Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I should just look at the glossy brochures with pictures of happy people and just pick one at random?
The Diabetes Technology Blog is focused on using technology to live life to the full with diabetes. I review new diabetes technology including: blood glucose monitors; continuous glucose monitors; blood sugar meters; diabetes software and living with diabetes.
About Me
Name: Bernard Farrell
Location: Massachusetts, United States
I was born in Ireland and now live in the US.
I have had Type 1 diabetes for over 36 years. I struggle with my blood sugar, the same as most people with diabetes.
I wear a Cozmo 1800 insulin pump and a Dexcom SEVEN Plus CGM to track my blood glucose levels.
I'm blessed by God, and every day brings the possibility of a cure.
The pump base is described as a '3-month insulin Pump Base that stores all your pump parameters'. Medingo says it last 90 days. Medingo provides you with a spare pump base, which will make replacement much less of a problem. 
The Solo Remote has a color screen. It downloads settings to the pump base so that it will operate to some degree without the remote. The pump base has buttons (highlighted in orange in the picture) that allow bolusing without the remote. I assume this is like other pumps where you set a predetermined bolus amount and press a certain number of times to get a bolus of a certain size.
It pointed to 
It uses existing OneTouch Ultra test strips, with 5 seconds before you have a reading. The meter lets you flag readings as before or after meal so you can get these averages. It stores up to 500 readings and runs on 2 AAA batteries. For more details read the 90-page 
