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TECHNOLOGIES & RESEARCH Cheryl Steele’s fabulous presentation gave Reality Checker’s the latest updates on D-related stuff and a taste of what might be coming. We saw the newest insulin pumps to hit the Australian market and what might be coming. The latest Disetronic (already here and takes a Humalog penfill cartridge), the new Minimed Paradigm (small, waterproof and soon to hit Australia). Other companies trying to break into the Oz market such as pumps from the company Animas and the funky little Deltec “Cozmo”. Many people were fascinated to discover Minimed also have a remote control the size of a keyring available to use for the pump. However, this isn’t available in Oz yet either as the powers that be are concerned about situations where several people are in a room together on pumps and one presses the remote and the other persons pump picks up the signal and delivers insulin to the wrong person. This could be a big issue given the right situation (i.e. RC Live!). But despite Cheryl’s vast wisdom on the topic, it wasn’t all about pumps! The latest in insulin mainly included a Glargine update. It has been approved to be used in Australia and is available for limited numbers of people in limited centres around Australia. A few new things in blood glucose monitoring. Everyone knows about the Optium which was released last year- and can measure blood ketone levels. Minimed's Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring system is going to become a bit more widely used for those who want to check up on what their levels are doing during the day and night, or fine tune their insulin doses or pump basal rates. The monitor is worn similar to a pump for 72 hours (but cannot be disconnected like a pump) and after that time, it gets plugged into a computer and voila’, a few days worth of readings appears on a graph. Great for those wanting to try and get a handle on nocturnal hypo’s and morning highs. However, you do still have to do fingerprick testing over this time too. The Glucowatch (everyone seen Panic Room?) was discussed as well, a watch-like device that can be worn on wrist or ankle and tests the fluid on the skin every few minutes. However, the watch is expensive (around $1,600 to import from the US), it isn’t available in Australia yet, and given the 3 or so hours required to calibrate it each day (you still have to blood-test to calibrate it). It also costs around $12 per sensor, the sensors are changed twice a day. It might be something to watch for in the future. Another advance in BSL monitoring currently being trialled in the US is an implant where a long electrode-type thing is implanted into a blood vessel near the heart, it stays there as fibrous tissue grows around it. Another part is implanted nearby, a small machine, which monitors the signals from the electrode type implant and transmits them to an external machine, which you just slip into your pocket. Pricey at around US$50,000. Overall Cheryl’s presentation was very informative and brought everyone up to date with the latest stuff happening in our quirky world. Cara, Melbourne |