Today it was my privilege to be able to give a patient's perspective of using the Medtronic MiniMed 640g insulin pump at the international conference for Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes, that was held at MiCo (Milan Congress Centre) in Italy. If you follow my blog or subscribe to my
YouTube channel, you'll have seen that I've been using the new Medtronic pump and enlite sensors since back in August 2015. And a few months after starting using the pump, I also had the pleasure of being amongst the first in Europe to use the Mio 30 angled sets too. But this was not the only first, as I was told on the day of the conference that I was the very first patient in their history, to have what I consider to be the honour of speaking on Medtronic's behalf at a conference of this kind.
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| My pump and I about to present at ATTD |
The conference and the
experience of speaking at ATTD were great, it was a pleasure to be able to give a patient's perspective of how using diabetes technology impacts positively on daily life. Also in attendance at the Medtronic workshop, giving his professional insight was Dr Pratik Choudhary, a diabetes specialist consultant from King's College London, who was joined by Dr Scaramuzza from Italy and Dr Beltrand from France, both paediatric diabetes consultants. The workshop on the MiniMed 640g was held in the yellow hall of the convention centre and was attended by healthcare professionals from all over the world and specialists in diabetes and technology. Aptly it was an interactive workshop with the help of technology, as each delegate table had a number of keypads on them, that when Dr Choudhary asked a question, not only were the delegates able to answer. But results were streamed straight to the presentation screen so we could see and discuss the results. This was fascinating because some people had seen the pump before and knew a little bit about it. Whilst others were completely new to it, so it was great to see what their first impressions on topics such as how Smart Guard, the software that acts like a guardian of your glucose, were.
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| MiCo Convention Centre, Milan |
The delegates in the workshop also had the chance to insert a Mio 30 set, into what I call a 'dummy tummy' device, after watching the demonstrative video. Which got many people discussing how easy it was to insert the set and how light the applicator was to hold. My presentation came at the end of the workshop, as a way to tie in all of the scientific, technology and patient centred elements that had been presented earlier on in the workshop. (As a result of feedback from friends/ readers of the blog, I have promised that I'll write a separate blog about what I presented on so that I can culminate and show my thoughts on the pump together in one place).
After the workshop everyone came together in the auditorium of the congress to visit the diabetes technology stands. I was lucky enough to have a wander through and see some of the new technologies and research that are either currently available for people with diabetes or are on their way. Living with diabetes can be tough and even challenging at times, but I know so many people with the condition would agree that technology makes our lives, and the condition, that little bit easier to manage. So it's incredibly reassuring that there are so many new technologies out there to aid us in our diabetes journey. I have to apologise that I can't share all the secrets about some of the new things I heard are in the technology pipeline. But please stay tuned and subscribe to the blog so that you can be the first in the know when I'm given the nod to share!
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| Medtronic Technology Stand At ATTD |
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