Medtronic launches pancreas ‘mimic’ device for diabetes

Medtronic has launched a diabetes management device that mimics the pancreas’s ability to predict low glucose levels.

It is hoped that the device could automatically prevent severe hypoglycemic attacks (low-blood sugar attacks, often called ‘hypos’), before they happen.

The MiniMed 640G uses Medtronic’s SmartGuard technology to automatically stop insulin delivery before glucose levels are predicted to reach a dangerously low limit within a 30 minute period, therefore avoiding a hypo before it happens. It can then resume insulin delivery once dropping glucose levels recover so a rebound high sugar attack is avoided. The group claims that MiniMed 640G is the only pump able to predict and prevent both serious hypos and rebound sugar highs. The algorithm the pump uses was tested in independent clinical trials and was able to prevent 8 out of 10 hypoglycemic events in patients who had just conducted vigorous exercise.

Following its launch in Australia in January this year, UK patients with type 1 diabetes are among the first in the world to have access to the MiniMed 640G system which includes a wearable insulin pump, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) kit and therapy management software.

Peter Hammond, Consultant Diabetologist, Harrogate District Hospital and [ex] Clinical Lead for the NHS Diabetes National Insulin Pump Network, said: “Severe hypoglycemia is so feared by many people with type 1 diabetes. Attacks often occur overnight when the patient is sleeping and might be unaware or unable to react in time to prevent them. This is particularly worrying for parents with young children who have the condition”.

He continued: “The MiniMed 640G is the only system able to automatically protect patients from hypoglycemia without patient interaction - addressing the huge unmet need of safely managing type 1 diabetes overnight. This system steers people with type 1 diabetes away from the risk of severe hypoglycaemia without them even needing to know they were in danger. As the closest commercial product in the world to a biological pancreas, the availability of MiniMed 640G in the UK is a huge step forward in the management of type 1 diabetes”

Dr Pratik Choudhary, Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Diabetes at King's College London said: “This new MiniMed 640g system represents another important step forward towards an artificial pancreas. Our early experience is that patients love it for the peace of mind and safety it gives them overnight due to its ability to protect them against hypoglycaemia. It will be particularly beneficial for the 5-10 percent of type 1 patients who experience frequent serious lows and / or are unable to recognise lows”. 

Karen Addington, Chief Executive of JDRF, the type 1 diabetes charity, said: “Type 1 diabetes is a complex and challenging condition that is on the rise in the UK. It requires intensive self-management day and night.  People affected by the condition – including parents of small children that have it – welcome technology that can help improve blood glucose control and bring increased peace of mind.”

She added: “New technologies offer people with type 1 diabetes the chance to live a fuller life with more freedom, making it easier for them to do things like eat out, sleep in on weekends, play sports and travel abroad without having to take time out to manage the condition – which many can also be self-conscious about.”