Conference Session C3
Paper 6140
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University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper
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INSULIN PUMP WITH BUILT IN CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR
Kanika Sarma, krs158@pitt.edu, Lora 6:00, Tvisha Josyula, tvj2@pitt.edu, Lora 6:00
Diabetes is a metabolic disease where the body is
incapable of producing enough or any insulin, causing high
levels of glucose in the blood. Normally, in healthy people,
the pancreas releases insulin as one eats, when the body has
registered that there are elevated glucose levels in the blood.
Insulin will then open the body's cells to allow the glucose in
the blood to enter and provide sustenance and energy for the
cells. However, this system does not function properly with
the lack of insulin. In Type 1 diabetes, the body cannot
produce insulin, as opposed to Type 2, where the body
produces not enough insulin. But, with the use of injected
insulin, a patient can manage their glucose levels.
The focus of this paper will be about the MiniMed
Paradigm Real-Time Revel System with a built in continuous
glucose monitor. The revel system is in widespread use and
has a great impact on diabetes Type 1 and Type 2 patients
[2], allowing them to make better decisions about their daily
eating and exercising habits. The system consists of a
continuous glucose monitor, sensor, transmitter, and an
insulin pump [2]. This technology notifies patients before
they exceed normal sugar levels in the body. An alarm
sounds if the glucose levels are too high or too low [3].The
system also calculates the required dose of insulin necessary
for the patient, which depends on his or her blood glucose
level throughout the day. The continuous glucose monitor [4]
has a sensor, which is inserted under the skin, to measure the
blood glucose levels in tissue fluid. The data from the sensor
is then transmitted to and is displayed on the glucose monitor.
The continuous glucose monitor displays glucose levels at
five-minute or one-minute intervals during the day [5]. The
insulin pump then delivers doses of insulin as needed.
In 2012, 29.1 million Americans had diabetes, with it
becoming the 7th leading cause of death in the United States
as of 2015 [6]. Diabetes also comes with many complications
including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks,
and kidney disease. As diabetes is very prevalent and applies
to many people across the US and the world, this Medtronic
insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring device will
potentially help those people with Type 1 diabetes manage
and live a healthy life through the control of their diabetes
[7]. Bioengineers and physicians have integrated their
knowledge and goals and have created a device that will
benefit so many people across the world.
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering 1
2016/01/29
In this paper, we will detail both the insulin pump and the
continuous glucose monitor and how each impacts the world
of bioengineering and medicine. We will talk about how
physicians standardize the administration levels of insulin,
basal and bolus administrations, and how the patients
themselves can control and monitor their own glucose levels.
For the Continuous Glucose Monitor, we will detail the
technology that includes the sensor, transmitter, and the
external monitor. Throughout our research, we will use the
aid of physicians, specifically primary care physicians and
endocrinologists, as well as online scientific and informative
articles about the device.
REFERENCES
[1] MedTronic. (2016). “MiniMed Real-Time Revel System.”
MedTronic
MiniMed,
Inc.
(Online
Article).
http://professional.medtronicdiabetes.com/paradigm-revelreal-time
[2] National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases. (2008). “Continuous Glucose Monitoring.”
National
Institutes
of
Health.
(Online
Article).
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/hethtopics/Diabetes/continuous-glucosemonitoring/Pages/index.aspx
[3] MedTronic. (2016). “Continuous Glucose Monitoring.”
MedTronic,
MiniMed,
Inc.
(Online
Article).
https://www.medtronic-diabetes.com.au/pumptherapy/continuous-glucose-monitoring
[4] Joslin Diabetes Center. (2016). “Fast Facts About
Continuous Glucose Monitoring.” Joslin Diabetes Center.
(Online
Article).
http://www.joslin.org/info/the_facts_about_continuous_gluco
se_monitoring.html
[5] E. Gebel Berg. (2014). “Anatomy of a CGM Sensor.”
American
Diabetes
Association.
(Online
Article).
http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2014/05-may/anatomy-of-acgm-sensor.html
Kanika Sarma
Tvisha Josyula
[6] Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. (2015).
“Leading Causes of Death.” Center For Disease Control and
Prevention.
(Online Article). http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leadingcauses-of-death.htm
which is a vital part of our discussion of how to use the Revel
System. The website also has information on the occurrence
of diabetes in children, adults, and adolescents. Such an
article will provide more broad and holistic information about
the prevalence of the disease among people of different ages.
[7] American Diabetes Association. (2016). “Type 1
Diabetes.” American Diabetes Association. (Online Article).
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/type-1/?loc=dbslabnav
K. Pandit. (2012). “Continuous Glucose Monitoring.” Indian
Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. (Online Article).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3603043/
The article from the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and
Metabolism, a part of the National Institute of Health, focuses
on describing the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring,
as well as comparing the technology with another existing
way of measuring glucose, the capillary blood glucose meter.
The article also explains who benefits from continuous
glucose monitoring, which will help us analyze the
applications of the technology. The article will also give us a
holistic point of view of the revel system, so we can compare
this system to other methods of monitoring glucose that are
already in place.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Diabetes Association. (2016). “Type 1 Diabetes.”
American
Diabetes
Association.
(Online
Article).
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/type-1/?loc=dbslabnav
This article from the American Diabetes
Association, explains the prevalence of Type I diabetes and
describes the disease in detail. It further illustrates the
symptoms and diagnosis of diabetes as well as lists
information about the genetics of diabetes. It provides
information as to how one can cope with the disease and
balance doses of insulin with the right amount of exercise and
food, summarizing how to manage and combat the side
effects of this disease. This information will serve as part of
the background on diabetes for the paper.
MayoClinic. (2013). “Diabetes Treatment: Using insulin to
manage blood sugar.” Mayo Foundation for Medical
Education
and
Research.
(Online
Article).
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/indepth/diabetes-treatment/art-20044084
This article, from the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit medical
practice and research group, delineates the importance of
insulin therapy for diabetes patients. It explains how the
understanding of insulin has an impact on blood sugar and
symptom management. This article is useful for this paper
because the focus is on the revel system, which releases
specific amounts of insulin for each patient’s needs. By
increasing our understanding of insulin, our research and
analysis on the Revel system will be more thorough and
accurate.
E. Gebel Berg. (2014). “Anatomy of a CGM Sensor.”
American
Diabetes
Association.
(Online
Article).
http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2014/05-may/anatomy-of-acgm-sensor.html
This article, from the American Diabetes Association,
describes how the use of a continuous glucose monitor
(CGM) can improve the daily life of individuals with type 1
diabetes. It also provides information about the basic features
of all CGM sensors. This source details the “anatomy” of the
technology and the materials used to produce this machine.
Information from this source can be used to describe the
different technologies that come together to create the CGM
sensor.
MedlinePlus. (2015). “Type 1 Diabetes.” National Institutes
of
Health.
(Online
Article).
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000305.ht
m
This article about type 1 diabetes from the United States
National Library of Medicine details the causes, symptoms,
and treatment of diabetes. This source shows the difficulty of
living with diabetes as it can affect one’s entire lifestyle
negatively. The purpose of this article is to show how the
technology of an insulin pump with a continuous glucose
monitor can improve a patient’s quality of life. Diabetes is
one of the most common diseases in the world, and a
technology to prevent complications and to manage a healthy
lifestyle is very beneficial to the medical world.
Joslin Diabetes Center. (2016). “Fast Facts About Continuous
Glucose Monitoring.” Joslin Diabetes Center. (Online
Article).
http://www.joslin.org/info/the_facts_about_continuous_gluco
se_monitoring.html
This article from a diabetes management center, explains
the benefits and the downside of the glucose monitoring
system. This information will be helpful for our thorough
analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the revel
system. The article also discusses the process of inserting the
sensor for the continuous glucose monitor into the skin,
2
Kanika Sarma
Tvisha Josyula
MedTronic. (2016). “MiniMed Real-Time Revel System.”
MedTronic
MiniMed,
Inc.
(Online
Article).
http://professional.medtronicdiabetes.com/paradigm-revelreal-time
This product website, from the biomedical technology
company, MedTronic, details the advantages of the entire
MiniMed Real-Time Revel System, which includes a
continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump. As it is
aimed towards those who are looking for an alternative to
insulin injections and to improve their lifestyle. This source
can be used for the detailed product descriptions and to show
the process in which MedTronic has developed the
continuous glucose monitor and the insulin pump.
National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases. (2008). “Continuous Glucose Monitoring.”
National
Institutes
of
Health.
(Online
Article).
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/hethtopics/Diabetes/continuous-glucosemonitoring/Pages/index.aspx
This article from the National Institute of Health
provides a clear introduction of the technology of a
continuous glucose monitor and how it works in conjunction
with an insulin pump. This source goes into detail about the
issues people with type 1 diabetes face, and how the
continuous glucose monitoring system can potentially rectify
these issues by administering insulin as needed after checking
glucose levels in the blood. Information from this source can
be used to show the advantages of using a CGM over the
typical insulin injections.
Norgaard. (2013, April 15). “Routine Sensor-Augumented
Pump Therapy in Type 1 Diabetes: The INTERPRET Study.”
Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics. (online article).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3696941/
This study from the National Center for Biotechnology
Information, a database of medical journals and studies, titled
“Routine Sensor-Augumented Pump Therapy in Type 1
Diabetes” headed by Dr. Kirsten Norgaard, provides data on
patients treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin
infusion, with the introduction of CGM, to assess which
variables are associated with the improvement in the
management of type 1 diabetes. This source provides patientreported outcomes that can give information about the benefit
of a CGM in diabetes management.
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