LIVING
a short history of
cGM sensors
a
voiding extreme highs body with a small canula that penetrates
and lows in glucose just under the skin (usually about 5mm
levels is crucial to under the skin). a small handheld device
controlling diabetes and shows the results on screen. results can
reducing the risk of long- also be download and even uploaded
term diabetes complications. continuous onto the products associated websites.
glucose monitoring is one way of helping However, cgms are often worn in
gain more control through greater insight conjuction with a pump. in the uk the
as to your blood glucose highs and lows. animas Vibe works directly with the
Put simply, a sensor placed just under Dexcom cgm (pictured right) while the
the skin reads your body tissue fluid’s medtronic minimed Paradigm Veo talks
glucose level and sends the result to a directly with medronic’s guardian real
receiver. the frequent results show a time system. both of these work with
graph from which you can see trends – medtronic’s carelink software.
you might see your glucose levels slowly
decreasing if you check the screen while The full picture
you go out for a long walk. cgm systems provide patients with a
clinical studies have shown that more complete glucose picture (compared that is showing an awful lot of promise
adults aged 25 and older with type 1 to normal blood tests alone). When as research proves that giving a diabetic
diabetes who use cgm therapy to help working in combination with an insulin added info about their current blood
manage their disease often experience pump, the pumps can be customized glucose readings can really help achieve
significant improvements in glucose to send out an alert when high and low best results in blood test readings and
control. Patients who use insulin pump thresholds are breached. rate-of-change therefore preventing the long-term
therapy in combination with cgm obtain alarms and trends based on cgm results damage associate with continued bad
lower Hba1c levels relative to patients are features that allow patients to make glucose control.
who use multiple daily injections and self- more informed decisions to help with their the future is bright. and the future
monitoring of blood glucose. control in terms of taking more food, or means wearing sensor-augmented
You can wear a CGM device on its more or less medication. insulin pumps.
own (without being on a pump) if you are in terms of history, cgm sensors have
on mDi (multiple daily injections). they not been around that long, and there not
consist of a sensor that’s worn on the than many to choose from. but it’s an area continued over
30
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