[Diabetes-Talk] My day at the TCOYD conference.

[Veronica Elsea]

Hi everyone.
Just for your info, TCOYD stands for taking control of your diabetes. I did
have a great time at the conference yesterday and learned quite a bit.
In the Type 1 section, they started with a very funny game, like the old
Newly Wed game on TV. Three couples, where one half had type 1 had questions
to answer and tried to get the same response. Oh man we just roared with
laughter. The questions were things like, what foods, not glucose tabs, do
you devour during a low blood sugar? 
I didn't spend quite as much time in the exhibits as I wanted to, but did
have some interesting chats. 
Of course I chatted with the Omnipod reps there. They took pictures of the
tool Peter and I made that helps filling the syringes and thought that
everyone would like this. I did feel their new PDM that's coming, which is
the touch screen. My response, ew! It feels like a big ol' phone. I got an
explanation of their Horizon, which will be their closed loop system. I did
speak to someone who works with their engineers and gave my speech about
speech and the use of "Talkback" in the PDM. We exchanged contact info so I
sure hope I can make some follow-up happen. 
On the Tandem, no hope for us totals on the current model. They're coming
out with a model which is completely controlled by an iPhone. I did ask them
if they were thinking of making the iPhone app look like their current pump
simulator app and they said they thought so. I did my best to put in a
discouraging word on this because it's totally graphic and completely not
usable by us. 
I also visited the Medtronic booth. I really wonder if this company will
ever get it. First we have the usual discussion about the current pumps. Oh,
blind people use our pumps. Really? How? They then describe the easy bolus
feature. I ask, okay, what else? Pause. I then ask, would you sell your pump
to a sighted person by telling them they could do easy bolus. Of course not.
So why shouldn't we want all the features of a pump? Then they admit that
they fall short. But yesterday's crew was harder to reach than usual. I
said, that's wearing a pump, not using a pump. Then they kind of woke up.
And wouldn't you know, I got the same answer I always get. We're coming out
with a new pump in about a year. Yeah right!
I did play with a smart pen a bit. This one was called, In Pen. It looks
just like any other insulin pen but it has blue tooth and connects to an
iPhone app. It's not disposable and you change cartridges like we did in the
80's and 90's. It did have half-unit clicks, which is pretty cool. As for
the app, I didn't get to create a setup that involved VoiceOver to really
check it out. It has some way of keeping track of what you've taken, a
calculator to figure out insulin on board, and was a lot about sending
reports to your doctors. I mentioned that it should be able to tell us how
much insulin was left in the cartridge. I did get phone numbers so I may
call and chat with someone for the fun of it. Apparently a lot of people use
the smart pens if they want a pump vacation, like in the summer. 
I also attended the session on the artificial pancreas systems. That was
quite fascinating and requires more investigation on my part. This was the
session for the hackers, oh boy! There are some companies called Loop,
Tidepool and another name that's escaping me at the moment. But you get an
extra box called something like Reilly or something, which essentially
connects your pump to an iPhone and you can turn it into a virtual closed
loop system. Apparently Omnipod is even sanctioning the Loop system. Well,
of course I wondered about their iPhone apps to see if this had the
potential to in effect create a talking pump for us. You bet I plan to
snoop. But all of these DIY closed loop systems started after a father
wanted to monitor his child at school, before the days of Share. This
program was called Night Scout and it basically stored data online
somewhere. Anyway, there's a big research project on this at Stanford, at
least.
There is another system that works off of older Minimed pumps like the Rebel
or Paradigm Gee, maybe you could have some fun here, Eileen. 
The current Medtronic 670G is called a hybrid closed loop system, because
you still have to enter correction and meal boluses yourself. A true closed
loop just watches the readings and reacts. Tandem has what they call Basil
IQ and control IQ, which means they're kind of implementing one step at a
time. But all of the pump companies are feverishly working towards that
closed loop system. One of the interesting comments was that right now,
these DIY systems, which are open source, for your tech nerds out there,
have collected more actual data than the Medtronic did for FDA approval. The
greatest change seems to happen for those with really high A1C's but for
those who are at 7% or less, the biggest reported difference was less stress
and better sleep at night. Hey, that would do for me. <grin>
But it was just fun learning about this stuff.
As for the Dexcom, the answers were just all over the place on Dexcom and
Medicare. They ranged from any day now, all the way to next November. Man,
at that point I sure paused and silently expressed my gratitude for the
results of making all the noise I did. Nobody seemed to know when the Libre
2 was coming out here but the reports of good accuracy data were definitely
increasing.
Anyway, that's my first batch of thoughts and I'll let you know what happens
as I do my follow-up snooping.
Veronica


"Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now available on
iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide Dog Glee Club. 
To learn more, visit:
http://www.laurelcreekmusic.com
                Veronica Elsea, Owner
Laurel Creek Music Designs
Santa Cruz, California
Phone: 831-429-6407