The company said that it is the first integrated insulin therapy to display real-time continuous glucose readings and trend graphs, allowing patients to make immediate self-management decisions to improve their glucose control after confirming readings with a fingerstick measurement.
The Paradigm Real-time system integrates an external insulin pump with continuous glucose monitoring. The system’s glucose sensor takes as many as 288 daily glucose readings per day – providing nearly 100 times more information than three daily fingerstick readings.
The Paradigm Real-time system incorporates ‘smart’ Paradigm 522 or 722 insulin pumps, which have powerful built-in Bolus Wizard calculators to manage the complex diabetes math for patients, the company said. These pumps recommend insulin dosages after considering the amount of insulin still ‘active’ in the body, helping patients avoid dangerous hypoglycemic episodes caused when too much insulin is delivered. The system is calibrated twice a day (every 12 hours) by entering a blood glucose measurement from a standard meter into the insulin pump.
Khalid Al-Rubeean, director of University Diabetes Center, King Saud University, Riyadh, said: “By viewing trends and real-time glucose information, patients can program their pump to start or stop insulin delivery upon demand, or they can eat carbohydrates to counteract for low blood sugar. Timely information coupled with precise insulin delivery is why this integrated insulin therapy has the potential to revolutionize diabetes management.”