Medtronic Insulin Pump FDA-Approved
The FDA approved Medtronic’s MiniMed Paradigm real-time insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring system. This device comes in two parts: a glucose sensor and an insulin pump. The monitoring system relays glucose readings to the pump every five minutes and can trigger an alarm so that patients can take approriate action if necessary. The sensor is a small electrode inserted under the skin that measures glucose in the interstitial fluid found between the body’s cells. It needs to be replaced every three days but patients can do that themselves. Traditional fingerstick measurements miss intra-day variations so some hypoglycemia events go unnoticed, for instance during sleep. This device graphs daily trends so that patients have a better overview of what’s going on over time.
April 14, 2006 Related topics: Product Approval & Certification