A closed-loop system can only be as good as the CGM that’s feeding it. Keeping that CGM accurate is essential! I’m currently running an experiment where I’m using a Dexcom G5 sensor and a Libre sensor concurrently to compare the behaviour and results. Mostly they track fairly closely, although at first glance the Libre does …
Blood glucose meters are an essential tool for anyone with diabetes. Even those of us using Continuous Glucose Monitors need to manually check every now and then (e.g. to regularly calibrate the CGM). I’ve used many different meters over the years, but this isn’t going to be a history lesson. It’s more about some of today’s …
“My friend’s kid has one of those.” Not an unusual reaction if I describe my closed-loop insulin system to someone without diabetes. They’ve heard about insulin pumps, and not unreasonably assume that they take a lot of the work away by automatically adjusting the insulin dose as required. Because that seems an obvious application of …
In my closed-loop pump system, the OpenAPS rig (a tiny Linux computer) communicates with the Medtronic Veo 554 pump every few minutes via radio. This works great, but it does put extra load on the pump’s AAA battery. So the batteries don’t last as long as in a non-looping pump. These AAA batteries are smaller …
Users of insulin pumps need to regularly change their cannulae, both to avoid infections and to maintain insulin infusion rates. There are some simple and effective tools available to keep track of this. For teflon cannulae we’re supposed to change them every 3 days. For metal cannulae such as the Contact Detach or Sure-T sets, …
Insulin pumps are life-sustaining devices that we live with 24 hours a day, so we become quite invested in them. We all live different lives, and our needs (and tastes) in insulin pumps vary. With this week’s announcement that Animas has shut down in the US/Canada, there are obvious clouds on the horizon for Australian …