Doc,
I spoke at length to Medtronic/Minimed about the Guardian and they confirmed there is no plan to
include a display at this time. They DID say that you can reprogram the alarms in a jiffy so you
could deduce what your approximate numbers are by resetting the alarm to a slightly higher/lower
setting as the case may be. It sounds as though the idea is to prevent folks from sleeping through a
serious hypo. The alarm is supposed to be audible in an adjacent room so that parents can hear their
kid's glucose alarm without the need for a room monitor to amplify the sound. They don't advocate
the Guardian to be a replacement for a bg meter; it's an adjunct to one.
If I had a continuous read-out meter, I'd probably over insulinize (sp??) myself into a coma anyway,
so it may be a good idea that they eschew the display of bg's.
dave
William C Biggs MD wrote:
> Mark,
>
> I haven't seen the actual unit in operation.
>
> If this device doesn't have the actual glucose on it's display, I will be really disappointed.
>
> In the past, warning devices used exclusively for detection of hypos have not done very well.
>
> The Teledyne Sleep Sentry works for some people, and has been available for many years. The cost
> is a tiny fraction of a glucowatch or the MiniMed system. However it doesn't work for everybody,
> and is virtually worthless during the day because of false alarms.
>
> I will need to see if the data is downloadable into a computer in real time. You might be able to
> get a current reading that way.
>
> Otherwise, the number of people who would be interested in this device just dropped by about 99% .
>
>
> Thanks for the correction.
>
>
> WCB
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Mark S. Davies" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
>
news:[email protected]...
>
>>On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 20:47:22 -0600, "William C Biggs MD" <
[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>MiniMed announced FDA approval for their home continuous glucose monitor.
>>>
>>>
http://www.minimed.com/common/ci_press_10.html
>>>
>>>
http://www.minimed.com/patientfam/pf_ipt_guardian_overview.shtml
>>>
>>>I haven't seen this up close and personal yet, but it appears to be identical to the CGMS unit we
>>>have used in our office for the last 3
>
> years,
>
>>>with a few differences.
>>>
>>>Most notably, a display of the current blood glucose, and an alarm system for lows.
>>
>>I don't believe that it has a display. The press release I saw mentions an alarm for highs and
>>lows, and the ability to download to a computer.
>>
>>>I have no info on the cost. The marketing appears to be directed at situations where an insurance
>>>company could be compelled to approve the device. For us, the biggest cost is the cost of the
>>>disposable sensor itself. Pricing for the home version should be very interesting.
>>>
>>
>>I've seen one set of figures, but I don't know where the poster got them, so I can't guarantee
>>their accuracy -- $1000 for the transmitter and monitor, and $35 PER SENSOR (to be replaced every
>>3 days). If that turns out to be the case, I'm going to be angry.....
>>
>>
>>>WCB
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>Mark Davies
>