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Couple Works to Make Diabetes Devices ‘A Little Less Drab’

By MikeH on May 24, 2013

If we’re forced to wear and carry medical devices all the time, we can at least spice up our gadgets with some color and decorative accents, right?Small But Mighty Icon

That’s what motivated a Pittsburgh couple to create their own business aimed at designing vinyl skin covers for the OmniPod tubeless insulin pump, Dexcom G4 Platinum continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and OneTouch VerioIQ glucose meter. Their outfit is called PumpPeelz, and it has apparently taken off like wildfire in the diabetes community — so we think their story is a perfect fit for our Small But Mighty series profiling small companies launched by passionate patients or caregivers.

The inventors are Scott Imblum and Emily Hixon, and they’ve battled resistance from the tubeless patch pump manufacturer Insulet in getting their idea off the ground.

Their story has a sort of “David vs. Goliath” feel to it, with the twist of David convincing Goliath they should be friends. In this case, it’s the story of a 20-something PWD and her soon-to-be husband vying for the support of the widely-popular Pod manufacturer, using the online community’s voice!

The backstory behind PumpPeelz actually began about a decade ago when Emily and Scott started dating back in high school…

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FDA Becoming More Patient-Friendly, It’s True!

By MikeH on May 23, 2013

The Diabetes Community has been known to grumble about the FDA once or twice before.
OK, fine. We’ve griped A LOT about the federal agency in how it handles diabetes drug and device reviews.
They don’t approve devices fast enough. Why don’t they have more stringent requirements for glucometer accuracy? They aren’t asking the right questions. They aren’t listening to the patient side of the coin enough. What gives?
But finally, they’re making moves to…

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Use of Glucose Monitors by Type 2s Not on Insulin (I Wrote an ADA Journal Article!)

By AmyT on May 22, 2013

As a blogger (conditioned for instant gratification!) I feel like I’ve been waiting forever, but the research article I prepared for the American Diabetes Association’s Spring 2013 Diabetes Spectrum journal has finally been published. It’s odd to see my name in that teeny-tiny academic-journal print.
The deal is that accomplished CDE Mary Austin approached me at last year’s big annual ADA conference to ask if I’d be willing to tackle a research project/article on patient…

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Ten-Year Diaversary (No Way!)

By AmyT on May 21, 2013

So it’s been an entire decade since type 1 diabetes turned my life on its ear, or something along those lines…
Many of you know my story: How I had a new baby who had just turned 5 months old, along with a 5-year-old and 3-year-old to care for when the symptoms hit… How I thought I was just exhausted because my baby had been suffering with a nasty flu that kept the two of…

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AACE’s New Diabetes Treatment “Algorithm” Leaves Us Cold

By WilD on May 20, 2013

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) proudly showcased their new “comprehensive algorithm” for diabetes treatment at their 22nd Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ, at the beginning of May, replacing their previous algorithm that’s been in place since 2009.
Wait, an algorithm? No, not the technology software kind. Rather, this “algorithm” is a set of complex guidelines for doctors that, according to the AACE, “considers the whole patient, the spectrum of risks and complications for…