I was asked to rerun this column and respectfully I post it again.
Okay—here is the idea. While we wait for so many things from a cure to better tools for management like a bionic/artificial pancreas; here is my idea.
Knowing one of the BIGGEST fears for parents is losing our child(ren) (or loved one like a spouse or a person with diabetes) while they sleep from a diabetes reaction—I offer the following challenge for better minds than me to work through, and could be done fairly quickly I imagine.
Knowing that tools like the CGM are already in place where a radio frequency is sent from the sensor to the device that reads blood sugar (and I get that it is not perfected yet)—cannot the same radio frequency be utilized to send a low or low trending blood sugar alarm to a device that could be triggered to wake up the entire household with the warning that the person with diabetes may be in trouble. Perhaps at 60—or 55—or perhaps you can set it to the number you like that works best for you. THIS cannot be a far stretch for the device to do from the alarm it is already activating—just make it a real loud activation. REAL LOUD.
Why does it have to be the whole ball of wax for an AP with reading glucose numbers and dispensing insulin and all that yada yada with FDA, algorithms, etc etc etc . (when it comes, great; but we have a long haul before it gets here—this is for the NOW—this is technology available NOW).
JUST WAKE US UP DAMN-IT
Ring bells—turn on lights—send in the cows—-make the frequency trigger something; THIS cannot be all that hard with available technology.
The CGM is already equipped to set of an alarm, based on info it receives from a sensor…right? All I’m saying is to have an ad hoc attachment that can sit on the night stand and get the same frequency that the CGM receives and activate whatever is needed to wake up the entire household when that number from a diabetes reaction is reached.
The answer? Nope. But a step until what we wait for is ready? Yep.
I would sleep a little better…….wouldn’t you?
Send this and share this with everyone and anyone to whoever is out there and willing to listen.
Thoughts?
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12 replies on “Wake Us Up Damnit!!!!! Nitetime Lows???? Warn Us!!!!”
I couldn’t agree more!!!! My son wears the newest Dexcom and although the alarms are improved, it still does NOT wake him up!!! With him heading off to college in August, a night time low is one of my biggest fears. I just do not understand how a potentially LIFE SAVING device does not have the option to have an absolutely blaring alarm, and one that could wake up the whole house would be wonderful!!!
Ive contacted my senator for a meeting, I didn’t hear back. Time to call/write again, and keep bugging them for a meeting! Also, there are small companies out there with idea and need to be heard. There some awesome ideas out there fir sensor technology. Thank for posting this.
We have this technology – the Medtronic mySentry. But I do have a few questions
1. Could other pump/CGM companies create a similar device?
2. Why is the FDA slow as molasses when it comes to bringing these life-saving devices to market – especially when the same devices are being used in Europe and Canada with great success?
3. How can we get insurance companies to pay for these devices so they are available to more patients?
Just some food for thought.
Your food for thought is good but I am speaking of something even simpler…..and can be adapted for all. The only ones who HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY as you satted are those with the iSentry which I am very familair with—-something for everyone….see what others do—read my other ‘reply’ on this post. Thanks.
That ‘s kind of ingenious . I have heard some parents place the Dexcom (which doesn’t have a loud alarm) next to a baby monitor so someone in another room could hear it. How complicated could it be to come up with something better and louder in this tech savvy period.
The Medtronic mySentry is not covered by insurance and costs $3,500 last we checked. I wish I had that kind of money just siting around. I would get it in a minute. These companies need to understand that if it is not covered by insurance and they make it really expensive then we will not but it.
Our Metronic sales person tried to make us feel like we were bad parents because we did not buy this device. He said “If my wife and I were in your position we would find room in our budget for this”
I tried using a baby monitor right next to his bed to hear the pump when it went off but when he was sleeping on his pump you still could not hear it.
Had the My Sentry( it wasn’t covered under our insurance ) but their GCM didn’t work for us so returned it and their GCM . I often wondered why Deccom didn’t have a similar product to market.
As U stated—there should be a generic ‘something’ that could be adaptable to all…..I have to think that it can be created. Some people even utilize the site/ap that measures earthquakes and set their dexcom on it and when it vibrates—on their phone—it gives off a loud alarm……sounds wierd but people use it.
I feel this way regarding integrated CGM/Pump Technology. Why does it have to be so proprietary? How about Medtronic focuses on making the best PUMP on the market, because that’s what THEY do best, and then allow it (and vice versa) to communicate seamlessly with the Dexcom CGM, which is what Dex does best. Why do we have to suffer for profit. There is enough money to be made by all. Once Dex figures out how to make a pump as good as Medtronic’s that is integrated with CGM, Medtronic will be out of business b/c the Dex CGM is actually ACCURATE. Why is that so hard as well? We have all this technology, it’s out there. Grr
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you know folks, all it takes is money and time to make this happen.
so here’s how I suggest you make it happen. Hire somebody like me to do the engineering work. Hire an engineer capable of doing FDA certification. Build budget and a project plan. Get a kick starter or something equivalent and try to crowd sourced funding.
now thinking about it,I might go a different route than the RF link. I might listen for the acoustic signal of the alarm and then do some audio fingerprinting to make sure it’s the same device as you train it to work with. Then the new device can act as the whole house alarm. Maybe something using WiFi and a little linux box like you would get from various sources. Shouldn’t be hard if we use the acoustic coupling method that we could probably build it without requiring FDA certification . Maybe.
this shouldn’t be hard and is probably in the ballpark of two programmer months maybe three and a few weeks of hardware engineering time to make the audio/microphone work properly.
we learned something at a CWD conference that will enable you to hear the alarms.. But – you need a smartphone,,
download the earthquake app…
at night time, put your cgm on vibrate…
and place it on the phone with the app turned on…
when it vibrates , the entire neighborhood will hear the alarm….
oops… didnt realize you mentioned this already…