The Corner Booth

 The invention of a "noninvasive" device that can measure blood glucose for people with diabetes with no need to poke the skin and draw blood has been the dream for decades. After all, why wouldn't people with diabetes (PWDs) flock to a skin patch that can detect blood sugar levels through sweat, or a wrist band that uses radio frequency technology to continuously beam glucose data directly to an app? Numerous companies are pushing forward in this noninvasive continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) space, even in the midst of a pandemic. To date, it's been mostly hype versus hope, as attempts to create those products have fallen flat. The Diabetes Technology Society (DTS) published a scientific analysis on this topic in October 2021, noting "the amount of interest in seeing the development of an accurate [noninvasive glucose sensor] and the amount of hyperbole by companies promising an accurate [product] both far outstrip the amount of publicly avai...

As we look to what's ahead in new diabetes technology for 2022, many may experience a sense of déjà vu. After all, much of what we'd anticipated for 2021 was delayed because of the continuing global pandemic (much like the year before). That means a lot of the forecast for the year ahead resembles what had initially been on tap a year earlier. Still, it's exciting to look at new innovations anticipated to literally change the face of daily diabetes management — from new insulin pens and pumps, to CGMs, and smart closed loop tech, or Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) systems. Our DiabetesMine team has been listening to industry earnings calls, and talking with company insiders and other experts to compile this roundup of what’s expected to materialize in 2022, with some of our own insights and observations sprinkled in. Tandem Diabetes Care For the first time, people with diabetes (PWDs) will likely see technology giving us the ability to control our medical ...

In the coming years, Tandem Diabetes Care has ambitious plans to introduce the next version of its tubed t:slim insulin pump, a series of three smaller devices to reduce and eventually eliminate tubes completely, and features allowing users to fully control their insulin pump and even deliver bolus insulin with their smartphones. The San Diego, California-based company revealed all of this at its first-ever R&D Day on Dec. 6, 2021, mapping out its 5-year pipeline plan for new technology. While medtech timelines often slip, given corporate priorities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review process, Tandem expects that it will be able to develop and launch most — if not all — of these new products on a rolling scale between 2022 and 2027. "As a diabetes care company, we realize there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to managing this complex condition," Tandem CEO John Sheridan said. "'Positively different' is a sum total of our brand.....

It wasn't until a quarter century after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) that Lori Salsbury in Arkansas realized the condition she'd been living with since she was 15 years old might not be what she thought it was. Though her mom and sister were both initially misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and later correctly dubbed T1Ds, Lori didn't have a reason at first to be suspicious of her own T1D diagnosis. Not until 2015, when she began seeing more people with diabetes sharing their stories online and realized something was off for her. Sure, there is a mantra in our community that "Your Diabetes May Vary." But for Salsbury, the particulars of her T1D just "didn't match" what she saw others in the D-Community sharing or what doctors and nurses described as the symptoms most newly diagnosed T1D experience. At the time of her diagnosis, Salsbury was in her mid-20s and seemed quite healthy. She didn't get nauseous or sick, e...

As Labor Day offrs a break from our usual work routines, let's take a moment to recognize all those who devote their lives to making a difference for the Diabetes Community -- everyone from researchers and medical professionals to all of us PWDs (people with diabetes) who work tirelessly just to  live  every moment of each day. And of course, we PWDs know there's  never  really a day off from diabetes. An Ode To All Diabetes Workers To those who make the "magic elixirs" Mixing the fast-acting or long-acting mixtures Storing these live-saving meds in bottles, pens or vials To help us endure our daily blood sugar trials We thank you for the work you do.   To the meter-makers and the pump assemblers Whose work rarely a patient remembers Building the systems and evaluating, testing We raise our calloused fingertips in thanks — no resting! We test our blood many times a day On any meter brand, in many a way Waiting for the countdown to see our #bgnow Hoping for littl...

 Most of us with diabetes live in fear of the dreaded diabetes complications that could someday strike — especially those of us diagnosed as kids or teens who've had many years for possible complications to develop. I personally was diagnosed with type 1 more than three decades ago in 1984 as a young child, and for as long as I can remember, I've been hearing about the stats telling us that we PWDs are at high risk of developing eye disease. According to the  National Eye Institute , almost 8 million PWDs are living with some version of diabetes-related retinopathy or  macular edema . Those stats hit home recently when my eye specialist told me that my own long-diagnosed retinopathy had progressed to the point of requiring laser treatment and possible injections into the eye.  Yep, the time had come for my first-ever official eye treatment for retinopathy. Facing my worst diabetes fears Of course, hearing that I needed laser treatment a...