DexCom Gets FDA Clearance to Open Up to Manual Calibration
November 16th, 2007 by Kevin
Did you know you can cut the cable between your iPod and your headphones? Well now you can have that same freedom from being cabled to your continuous glucose monitor thanks to a forthcoming feature recently cleared by the FDA.
Looks like manual calibration is the order of the day for continuous. Hmmm?
We’ll see how it shakes out but I suspect that this means far less data for the Dex to consider from meter checks and loss of control over the quality of the data used to calibrate. Can anyone say typo or ‘digit transposition’?
I for one like the idea of telemetry between the receiver and the meter but of course that can be cumbersome and clearly not something you would design into a cool medical device 
Unless you were depending on it to tell you when you’re high and when you’re low. While Medtronic’s system already works without a telemetric connection and uses manual calibration I wonder if this could be one of the major reasons behind some differences between the two as reported online by patients wearing these two systems?
I also wonder if you will still be able to use a cable at your option or if all patients will be forced to manually calibrate? Enough guessing - we’ll see how it goes early next year when the regular people start to use this new feature.
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November 16th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Kevin
I for one will be happy to lose the cable. And I’m no so worried about incorrect data. I’m sure it will be a small problem.
But remember many of us with pumps have been entering blood glucose values for years. And currently we’re probably the main users of the Dexcom.
I think the key will be how they implement it with their keypad. How quickly will the scroll work when someone holds down the arrow keys? The user interface they give us will be really important for this to work properly.
November 16th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Agreed on the UI - minimum complexity. However, if the calibration algorithms are optimized through a series of data points (IF) then manual entry means fewer data points. Just not sure how this will affect performance which is why you pay for the sensors and wear something extra in the first place, right? It’s always a trade-off when it comes to technology and we’ll just have to wait and see.
November 16th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
PS - Bernard, you’ve been stuck with that 6ft python, right? The shorter cable isn’t nearly as cumbersome - tucks nicely in the existing meter case. How about a short range wireless connection to eliminate the cable and hold on to the telemetric data benefits?