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Missed insulin doses lead to complications. A new Medtronic app can detect when patients forget a dose.
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Missed insulin doses lead to complications. A new Medtronic app can detect when patients forget a dose.

Forgetting to inject insulin before meals can be a problem that contributes to long-term complications of diabetes. That’s why Medtronic designed a system that it says is the first to recommend corrections for missed or inaccurate insulin doses for people who inject insulin multiple times a day. .

Operated from its offices in Fridley, Medtronic announced Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration has cleared its smartphone app for use of the InPen insulin injector. The regulatory approval paves the way for the launch of the company’s “Smart MDI” system, comprising a smart insulin pen that tracks doses and a body-worn monitor that takes real-time blood sugar readings for people performing multiple daily injections.

Managing diabetes is challenging, and determining the timing and size of the insulin dose daily can cause burnout, said Que Dallara, who heads Medtronic’s diabetes unit.

“Our goal is to help simplify diabetes management and reduce uncertainty by providing intelligent information that makes it easier to determine insulin needs so individuals can achieve their diabetes management goals,” Dallara said in an email. .

The approval is the latest sign of momentum for Medtronic’s diabetes group, which on Tuesday reported double-digit revenue growth for the most recent quarter, outperforming the company’s other business segments. Medtronic announced in August that Abbott Laboratories, a competitor, will do a continuous glucose monitor tracking a patient’s blood sugar levels that will work exclusively with the company’s proprietary MiniMed insulin pumps.

The InPen app is the face of Medtronic’s Smart MDI system, which includes a continuous glucose monitor and smart insulin pen that communicate via Bluetooth with the app, called “InPen: Diabetes Management App,” which helps people to calculate accurate insulin doses.

Diabetic patients may have difficulty calculating an insulin dose based on their food intake or miss a dose when they are busy or have an irregular schedule, said Diana Isaacs, director of education and training in diabetes technology at the Cleveland Clinic. This can cause their blood sugar levels to rise, leading to feelings of thirst and frequent trips to the bathroom, as well as an increased risk of long-term complications, Isaacs said.

The system issues a “missed dose alert” which helps minimize the frequency of high blood sugar and produces data that medical teams can review later.