By: Tyler Valente, PharmD Candidate c\/o 2016 <\/i><\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
A growing trend within our progressive society is the advancement of technology. Over the past few years, inventions that were mere fantasies just a decade or two ago have become a reality. Within the medical field, progress can be seen particularly in the development of medical devices. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), medical devices \u201crange from simple tongue depressors and bedpans to complex programmable pacemakers\u2026\u201d and can be defined in part as \u201can instrument, apparatus, implement, machine or\u2026related article\u2026which is\u2026intended for use in the diagnosis\u2026or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man\u2026\u201d1<\/sup> One of the most remarkable technological developments amongst medical devices is the revolution of the glucometer.<\/p>\n In treating diabetes, the two most common ways of monitoring blood glucose is with a blood glucose meter or a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Before the FDA approved MiniMed as the first CGM in 1999, one had no choice but to carry a testing kit and frequently prick their finger in order to draw blood into the glucometer. Although these are still very commonly used among diabetics, standard glucometers are inconvenient and present burdens to patients \u2013 inspiring the invention of CGMs.<\/p>\n A CGM is a device that is worn externally and continuously displays an estimate of blood glucose levels via a small, wire-like sensor inserted just under the skin.2<\/sup> When used in conjunction with a blood glucose meter, a CGM is beneficial because it requires less frequent finger pricks while providing an extensive data set of glucose levels over time.\u00a0 Just earlier this year, the FDA \u201callowed marketing of the first set of mobile medical apps that allow people with diabetes to automatically and securely share [medical data].\u201d2 <\/sup><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>The Dexcom G4\u00ae<\/sup> Platinum Receiver with Share<\/i>TM<\/sup> is a CGM with Bluetooth capabilities, allowing caretakers to view a diabetic patient\u2019s blood glucose levels in real-time via an app called Dexcom Follow. This technology is particularly useful for young children and elderly patients who need assistance in the management their diabetes. With the ability to access a patient\u2019s glucose levels via the Dexcom Follow app, caretakers can play a larger role in monitoring the patient\u2019s levels, leading to decreased hypoglycemic events and increased medication adherence.3<\/sup> A possible downside to this technology is that caretakers only have access to levels that the patient chooses to send to the app. Also, although the caretaker can see<\/i> this information, there is nothing that can be done<\/i> remotely. The caretaker still has to contact the patient to tell them to either consume something with sugar or inject a rapid acting insulin dose, depending on the levels shown on the app.<\/p>\n Dexcom G4\u00ae<\/sup> Platinum Receiver with Share<\/i>TM<\/sup> is a monumental first step into the world of medical apps. However in today\u2019s society, one can expect it to be just that, a step<\/i>. Dexcom\u2019s next product, which will be submitted for FDA approval in Spring 2015, promises to automatically transmit all glucose data directly from the sensor worn on the body to the iPhone app.<\/p>\n SOURCES:<\/b><\/p>\n [pubmed_related keyword1=”technology” keyword2=”medicine” keyword3=”unite”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Tyler Valente, PharmD Candidate c\/o 2016 – A growing trend within our progressive society is the advancement of technology. Over the past few years, inventions that were mere fantasies just a decade or two ago have become a reality. Within the medical field, progress can be seen particularly in the development of medical devices.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-news-politics"],"views":847,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhochistj.org\/RhoChiPost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n