Tag Archives: Type Zero Technologies

Sometimes, the Diabetes Community wins.

July 26, 2016 – 9:08 am

I need to take a moment to talk about last Thursday. A day like many other days, full of commutes, and workouts, and tasks to complete. Only this time, it wasn’t exactly a typical Thursday.

Sometimes, the diabetes community wins.

Four big announcements took our world by storm that day, and the news was, to me anyway, all positive.

The day began with an announcement from Type Zero Technologies and Tandem, announcing a working agreement to use Type Zero algorithms in future t:slim artificial pancreas solutions. For a pump agnostic group like Type Zero, it’s very cool to see them working with another partner in addition to CellNovo. I hope to provide more insight on this at a later date. For the official word on Type Zero and their work with Tandem, CLICK HERE.

But wait… that’s not all. There’s more!

Thursday was a big day at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as a hearing took place to discuss Dexcom and its latest continuous glucose monitor, the G5, to decide whether it could be officially approved for patients to make dosing decisions. That’s not the exact wording, but in simple terms, that’s it. In short, FDA approved the measure, and now we all have to decide what that means for us, individually.

For some, this decision isn’t a big deal, because they’re dosing off of the Dexcom readings they see already. For others, they’re thrilled that they see the okay from an official government agency to do this. For still others (Ally makes some points worthy of discussion here), there are questions like “Will I now be denied test strips because insurers will want me to dose off of the Dexcom?”. Again, many sides to the issue, so it will be interesting to see what the coming years bring.

Another, important side to this story: the fact that this disposition makes it so much easier to include CGM within existing Medicare framework in the future. It will probably still require Congress to act, which they haven’t wanted to do for a while, but there’s no question a major roadblock is out of the way.

This was a real success story for the Diabetes Community, as it rallied behind initiatives from Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalitionand diaTribe to sign petitions that were seen by FDA as important influences. They really do listen to us, folks.

But wait… that’s not all. There’s more!

Bigfoot Biomedical also heard from FDA on Thursday, getting approval to move ahead with stage 1 clinical trials on their smartloop™ automated insulin delivery system. Bigfoot has been working hard, and there are so many visible, familiar, lovable faces associated with this company that it’s hard not to root for their success.

The stage 1 clinical trials will be starting shortly, in the San Francisco Bay area, in Santa Barbara, California, and in Denver, Colorado. If these trials are successful, they hope to move into stage 2 trials by the end of this year. Yay Bigfoot!

But wait… that’s not all. There’s more!

Ed Damiano, one of the main driving forces behind the iLet bionic pancreas solution, was named by Boston University as Innovator of the Year for his work on their unique dual-hormone system.

Many people have written about Dr. Damiano and his systems over the years, so there’s not much more I can add, except to say that this recognition is long overdue, and if I were to name the ten most important living scientists working on diabetes-related causes right now, his name would be very near the top. What he and his team have been doing has been influencing all of us, whether we know it right now or not.

Can you believe that all of this good news came out over a single 24 hour period? As my news feeds popped up with each new story Thursday, I could hardly contain my happiness.

Particularly gratifying to me were the many tweets and Facebook status updates from people in the Diabetes Community who feel like there’s a reason to hope again. And boy, do we need some hope. For that reason alone, Thursday was a very good day.

Sometimes, the Diabetes Community wins. Thursday was a great day. Thank you for doing your part to help make it happen.

**Note: the original draft of this post noted Bigfoot Biomedical as a non-profit. It was my mistake, which I am happy to correct.

By StephenS | Posted in Advocacy, Artificial Pancreas | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (5)

Diabetes By The Numbers: Type Zero Technologies.

August 6, 2015 – 9:34 am

Molly McElwee Malloy was my first interview here. She’s also my latest interview here.

A little over two months after the birth of Happy Medium, I saw Molly give a speech at a local JDRF meeting in Baltimore. At the time, she was clinical research coordinator at the Center for Diabetes Technology at the University of Virginia. She is also an RN and a Certified Diabetes Educator, and has been living with Type 1 Diabetes since 1998.

That was the first time I had seen anyone speak live about artificial pancreas development, how everything worked, and actually show me photos of the device they were testing. I was jazzed up about it, and the next day (and the day after that), I really bothered Molly for an interview. She said no, but said she would answer any questions I might have, so I could get all my facts straight.

In that instance as a new diabetes blogger with two months experience, and in the three years since, she has been kind, patient, and gracious when bombarded by my enthusiasm and my never-ending list of questions.

This month, Molly stepped into her latest role as Head of Patient Engagement at Type Zero Technologies, which is the commercial arm of AP research that was born many years ago at UVA’s Center for Diabetes Technology.

I am proud to say that she has finally gone on the record with me, for about 13 minutes, to talk about Type Zero and their InControl platform, including InControl Advice and InControl Cloud. She talks about those three products, the timing of upcoming clinical trials, and the plan for submitting these for approval to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In reality, I wish we had more time, because this discussion could have easily gone two or three episodes. Instead, you’ll have to be satisfied with this little teaser, and then go to the Type Zero website to learn more.

Also, and this is important: Clinical trial participants are a very important piece of cutting-edge development like this. Please see below to find out more about volunteering to participate.
DBTN

Reference Material – Click below for more information on this topic

Find out more by going to the Type Zero Technologies website:
http://typezero.com

Follow Molly McElwee Malloy on Twitter:
@MollyMacT1D

Clinical trial participants are necessary and appreciated! Interested? Send an e-mail to:
artificialpancreas@virginia.edu
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes By The Numbers | Also tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Brain Dumps.

July 27, 2015 – 2:24 pm

I’m back after spending a few days in Charlottesville, Virginia with The Great Spousal Unit. It was a nice trip with great weather, and other than my surgery, it was the first extra time off I’ve had since March. Ahhhh… I feel rested. Here are a few random brain dumps to begin the week:
 
 
– Looking for more artificial pancreas news? TuDiabetes will be hosting a discussion with three members of the new Type Zero Techologies team on Thursday, July 30th at 1:00 pacific time (US). That’s 4:00 in the afternoon on the east coast, and 9:00 p.m. in London. Learn about the InControl, InControl Advice, and InControl Cloud solutions that the folks in Virginia have been working on. #WeAreNotWaiting, and #TheyHaveBeenWorking. Find out more about what they’ve been working on, Thursday afternoon. CLICK HERE for more information.

– Registration for the Diabetes UnConference is happening right now! 2016 will include two new and important things: 1) There will be a western UnConference (again in Las Vegas), and an east coast UnConference in Atlantic City; and 2) Each UnConference will include sessions specifically for the spouses, significant others, etc. who live with us as we live our lives with diabetes. So, you have date and location options, and you can bring your Type Awesome too. This is a big deal, and I really hope you can be there either in Las Vegas next March, or Atlantic City next September. Make your plans now. And CLICK HERE to register. What are you waiting for?

– It’s amazing how your BGs go crazy when you travel. That’s because nearly everything you’re eating is some measure between general processed food and high carb crap, or both. I felt like I was throwing insulin at my numbers all day Saturday, even though one of my meals was no carb, and an evening snack was no carb too. I still woke up on Sunday morning at 149 mg/dL. Love the travel, hate the BG effect.

– On the other hand: Would anyone like a squash from my garden? Or maybe two? Or three? I am currently overwhelmed with squash. This situation caused Maureen to make the dreaded “squash casserole” when we returned from Charlottesville. I’m not a fan, though I love to grill it along with other summer vegetables. But right now, I’m feeling like I’d like to go a few weeks without even seeing another squash. A good problem to have, I guess.

– Finally, for those who might be wondering: I’m now about a month and a half beyond knee surgery, and I can tell you that my progress has been slow. I feel like it’s improving every day, but in teeny, tiny increments each day. So while I’m seeing noticeable improvement week to week, I’m not really able to tell the differences on a day to day basis. Still, progress is progress, and I did well walking around the University of Virginia campus last weekend. Can’t wait until I can get back on my bike.
 
 
Have a great Monday. Heard anything new recently? Let me know!
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Like these links | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)
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