The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a diabetes management system that combines an insulin pump with a glucose monitoring system. This diabetes management system, manufactured by Medtronic, is called MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time Revel System.

In a company news release, Katie Szyman, president of the diabetes business and senior vice president at Medtronic, said, “The MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time Revel System can help a patient [with diabetes] feel more secure by giving early warning of one of their greatest concerns, hypoglycemia, while continuing to simplify the complexity of diabetes management with easy-to-use features.” The diabetes management systems includes insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose monitoring with alerts that can give patients with diabetes early warning of blood sugar levels that are either too high or too low. The system also comes with online diabetes therapy management software that helps patients with diabetes and their healthcare providers evaluate and manage treatment and make needed adjustments.

This new diabetes management system may be the next step toward development of an artificial pancreas. Recent studies suggest the combining insulin pump therapy with continuous glucose monitoring improves patients’ long-term glucose control and reduces the risk of severe hypoglycemia. The MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time Revel System is already available. Patients with diabetes can discuss with their healthcare providers whether this diabetes management system is right for them.

Source:

Medtronic News Release, 17 March 2010.