Clinical experience with an integrated continuous glucose sensor/insulin pump platform: A feasibility study

The recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of an integrated real-time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system and insulin pump (Medtronic MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time System; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc., Northridge, Calif) is the most recent breakthrough paving the way toward the development of a closed-loop insulin delivery system that could revolutionize diabetes care. An early prototype of the MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time System-which provided both real-time CGM and insulin pump therapy but was not yet fully integrated-was tested in 20 volunteer subjects with type I diabetes who wore the device for up to 2 y. Subjects were instructed on the technical use of the device but were provided no additional support, aside from their usual diabetes care. Participation in the trial averaged 317 d (minimum, 88 d; maximum, 618 d). Five participants prematurely dropped out of the study (2 because of the inconvenience of carrying 2 devices). Data from all subjects were analyzed. Subjects reduced their A1C by a mean of 1.1% (standard deviation, 0.8). After 3 mo of device use, the number of participants who achieved A1C < 7% increased by more than 3-fold. Individuals with baseline A1C >= 7% had a 67%, likelihood of achieving an A1C < 7% by the first follow-up assessment. This observational study of combined CGM and insulin pump therapy suggests that this innovative device can help people achieve improved glycemic control. Given that only about one third of individuals with diabetes are achieving glycemic control targets, more effective methods to help patients avoid the devastating consequences of uncontrolled diabetes are desperately needed.