Continuous Monitors

DexCom and Tandem Diabetes Care have a CGM Development and Commercialization Agreement to integrate the Dexcom's future generation sensor into the t:slim Insulin Delivery System. The t:slim, the first touch-screen insulin pump, has FDA approval but is not on the market yet. The announcement also mentions "future generations of the sensor", so it may be awhile before we see the systems actually working together.

Medtronic received FDA approval to sell the mySentry Remote Glucose Monitor in the U.S. on January 4, 2012. This remote monitor allows the parents of a child with diabetes to see their child’s continuous glucose monitor (CGM) data during the night from a Paradigm Revel insulin pump while they sleep in another room.

Dexcom is making more friends. Already having partnerships with Animas and Omnipod, Dexcom has now signed a research and development agreement with Roche Diagnostics U.S. The plan is to integrate Dexcom's continuous glucose monitor into Roche's insulin pumps so you can see trends and blood glucose data in one handheld device.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Like Mini-Med, Animas' first product to market was an insulin pump, but they are also developing an interesting long-term implanted glucose sensor. Based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and founded by engineer Katherine Crothall, Animas is putting together the ingredients for an artificial pancreas. Ultimately this sensor will be tied into an insulin infusion pump to provide closed-loop control of blood glucose levels.

The Dexcom STS and the Paradigm RT continuous monitors are currently available in the U.S. with a prescription. In this study, they are compared head to head while being worn by one person with Type 1 diabetes. Over 33 days, 262 simultaneous readings were compared between a One Touch meter and the two continuous monitors. The meter was used to calibrate both monitors and as the standard against which their accuracy was evaluated.

OUTDATED Dexcom - Transdermal Glucose Oxidase Enzyme. Please visit our Dexcom Info page.

Update: FreeStyle Navigator® Continuous Glucose Monitoring System U.S. Customers

DexCom, headquartered in San Diego, California, is focused on developing technology for continuous glucose monitoring to improve the lives of people with diabetes. Their DexCom STS system was approved by the FDA on March 27, 2006. Since then, Dexcom has upgraded their system to the new Dexcom SEVEN Plus. Find out what's new below.

In 2006, some 14 years after beginning its CGMS project and a couple of weeks after DexCom received approval for its STS continuous monitor, MiniMed received FDA approval for sale of its Paradigm REAL-Time System. This system integrates the x22 series of Paradigm pumps with a continuous glucose monitor.

A few years ago, when real-time continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) were introduced, my opinion was less than enthusiastic. I kept going back to the issue of accuracy. If blood glucose meters are within 15% of lab values, and CGMs are within about 15% of the meters, how useful could they possibly be? In my personal experience, I have seen plenty of CGM inaccuracies. And a day does not go by without a call or e-mail from a concerned client doubting the usefulness of their CGM system.