11–20 of 56 posts
So, for those of you that feel that this is worthy of hacking: Diabetes is one of those diseases that seems right where your average hacker would like it to be. A single value (Blood Glucose Level) which you can read using some sensor and an automated delivery method. Connect A to B using some 30 lines of Python and call it a day. But it is not that simple. The manufacturers of these devices have to go through some p…
I'm curious what the build-your-own-pancreas people have to say about Tidepool's plan to build an iOS app to do the control logic, and at the same time developing standard interfaces to insulin pumps and glucose monitors. Any comments? https://www.tidepool.org/blog/tidepool-loop-medtronic-collab...
Personally I’ve been using their Tidepool software for two years before this and it’s very good. The Tidepool Loop is actually based off of another FLOSS APS called Loop - so it’s likely the efforts will not go to waste. That being said, there’s still possibility that the pump manufacturers have interest to stifle their development - but we’ll see.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Making a hardware product that is validated in a regulated market is non trivial. At least part of the cost goes to reducing overall risk to a large market, which open source projects aren't really resourced to address.
Isn't it possible to design the product such that its risks are greatly reduced? E.g. by limiting the amount of insulin it can deliver in a given timeframe?
- CGM sensors can be faulty, depending on the rate of change of glucose (they’re actually not measuring blood directly, but interstitial fluids, which are generally lagging by about 15mins and can be inaccurate with large swings)
- battery dying out isn’t so bad, since the pump will just default back to its previous basal delivery settings - there are safety maximums on insulin delivery, which prevent among other things, your typical overflow/precision errors
- maximums over time though is a more complex issue, something I haven’t yet dug into
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't it possible to design the product such that its risks are greatly reduced? E.g. by limiting the amount of insulin it can deliver in a given timeframe?
A bit of elaboration on the risks you could encounter here: - CGM sensors can be faulty, depending on the rate of change of glucose (they’re actually not measuring blood directly, but interstitial fluids, which are generally lagging by about 15mins and can be inaccurate with large swings) - battery dying out isn’t so bad, since the pump will just default back to its previous basal delivery settings - there are safety…
I'm curious what the build-your-own-pancreas people have to say about Tidepool's plan to build an iOS app to do the control logic, and at the same time developing standard interfaces to insulin pumps and glucose monitors. Any comments? https://www.tidepool.org/blog/tidepool-loop-medtronic-collab...
I hope they don't mess up the encryption on the pump commands. Especially with pumps that can deliver high doses that can be really problematic.
It's a damn shame that years after this became a thing we are still waiting for a proper commercial product to hit the market at a reasonable price , I had a male relative with T1 diabetes and it was a complete burden on his life, We have the technology to improve peoples lives markedly (because we already did) but because of what the author mentioned in the article and the lack of "skin in the game" manufacturers ar…
How many people is the device allowed to kill when it fails? Who pays the bill when that happens?
The answer to those questions defines the price and availability of a medical device.
It's a damn shame that years after this became a thing we are still waiting for a proper commercial product to hit the market at a reasonable price , I had a male relative with T1 diabetes and it was a complete burden on his life, We have the technology to improve peoples lives markedly (because we already did) but because of what the author mentioned in the article and the lack of "skin in the game" manufacturers ar…
> It's a damn shame that years after this became a thing we are still waiting for a proper commercial product to hit the market at a reasonable price How many people is the device allowed to kill when it fails? Who pays the bill when that happens? The answer to those questions defines the price and availability of a medical device.
Also once the device is built and certified subsequent devices are at the cost of materials, support and production (and some profit) ... which I suspect is a bit a bit less than 8000.
It's a damn shame that years after this became a thing we are still waiting for a proper commercial product to hit the market at a reasonable price , I had a male relative with T1 diabetes and it was a complete burden on his life, We have the technology to improve peoples lives markedly (because we already did) but because of what the author mentioned in the article and the lack of "skin in the game" manufacturers ar…
To build one you can sell to anyone who has diabetes (and the money or insurance to cover it) you have to do a lot of "idiot proofing." You can't assume they will keep up with all the information, best practices, etc.
They want it to just work and that's not what you are seeing with the build-your-own crowd.
It's a damn shame that years after this became a thing we are still waiting for a proper commercial product to hit the market at a reasonable price , I had a male relative with T1 diabetes and it was a complete burden on his life, We have the technology to improve peoples lives markedly (because we already did) but because of what the author mentioned in the article and the lack of "skin in the game" manufacturers ar…
Hence hobbyists home brewing this stuff. Only when you're making things for yourself are incentives properly aligned.
I'm curious what the build-your-own-pancreas people have to say about Tidepool's plan to build an iOS app to do the control logic, and at the same time developing standard interfaces to insulin pumps and glucose monitors. Any comments? https://www.tidepool.org/blog/tidepool-loop-medtronic-collab...
> Any comments? I hope they don't mess up the encryption on the pump commands. Especially with pumps that can deliver high doses that can be really problematic.