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Tandem Diabetes in Three Words: Advancing Diabetes Care
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Background
Tandem Diabetes’ mission is to simplify the lives of people living with diabetes so they can focus more on living and less on their disease. This applies to both patients and patient care givers, many of whom are parents.
Diabetes is a difficult disease to manage. In type 1, or insulin-dependent, diabetes, the body does not make insulin so it needs to be provided through an outside source. As a reminder, insulin signals that there is glucose in the blood and it should be taken into cells. Insulin is given, as a bolus, with meals to account for an influx of sugar. Insulin requirements also fluctuate in the body as it responds to stress, exercise, etc. People living with diabetes typically give themselves injections of insulin with a meal. Unfortunately the proper calculation of insulin amounts is more of an art than science. If you miscalculate and don’t give yourself enough insulin, blood sugar levels are high. If you give too much insulin, blood sugar levels become dangerously low. High blood sugar levels damage organs, impair cognitive function, and clog small blood vessels leading to loss of extremities and retinopathy. Low blood sugar levels can result in coma or death. It is a challenging balance, and unfortunately patients don’t always get it right.
Bolusing after a meal (i.e. administering a single dose of medication) doesn’t account for the body’s needs throughout the day. For example, stress triggers the breakdown of energy stored in cells so the body can respond to the situation. That breakdown releases glucose into the bloodstream and without insulin, the cells that need the energy can’t use it. Exercise triggers similar changes in blood glucose levels. A person whose body can produce insulin and respond to its signals never has to think about this. A person living with diabetes thinks about this all the time.
Tandem Diabetes is working to make the process of managing diabetes less challenging for patients and caregivers so they don’t have to think about it, or not as much. Very simply, it makes a pump to deliver insulin to patients as they need it. By focusing on patients and listening to their needs, the company has developed technology to help patients keep their blood glucose levels in their target range by mimicking the feedback mechanisms of our bodies. It is the only company that has an FDA approved closed-loop system.
Working with the DexCom (NASDAQ: DXCM) G6 continuous glucose monitor, but expanding to the Dexcom G7 and the Abbott (NYSE: ABT) Freestyle Libre 2 and 3, Tandem’s t:Slim X2 pump monitors blood glucose levels and uses AI to adjust basal amounts of insulin to keep sugar levels in the desired range. It has the ability to switch to exercise or sleep mode so it more closely resembles the functions of a body that produces insulin on its own. Again, by getting input from patients, the t:Slim X2 is compact, easy to read, rechargeable, and discreet. Patients also love being able to give themselves a bolus or control insulin amounts from their smartphone.
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