It appears that useful products are slowly creeping their way through the FDA pipeline (sort of like a large animal moving its way through a snake). In the last month, a new pump (the T-slim from Tandem) was approved, and the Sentry monitor from Medtronic also received clearance. T-slim is a full-feature pump that has the look and feel of an i-Phone. Full color, touch screen, usb plug-in to charge/download, etc… Should be available in the middle of this year.
The Sentry is a long-awaited bedside monitor to let parents know if their child’s blood sugar is dropping during the night. The child would need to be wearing the Medtronic continuous glucose monitor; a device at the child’s bedside receives a signal from the CGM and emits a strong signal to the Sentry monitor in the parent’s bedroom. A large display and loud alarm would then alert the parents of potential problems. Sounds like a great idea, but the list price ($3000) is quite high, and it is questionable whether insurance will cover.
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