Donated device helps people with diabetes plan treatment

11/09/2009 | Diabetes device donated

Thanks to a sizeable bequest Diabetes Manawatu yesterday donated a state-of-the-art glucose monitoring device for use by clients of the Diabetes Lifestyle Centre at Palmerston North Hospital. The Guardian REAL-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring System is the first of two devices, to be donated for use by people with diabetes in the MidCentral District Health Board region.

“I’m rapt to be able to do it and the society is as well,” Diabetes Manawatu President Adrian Coombe said when he presented the new device to members of the diabetes specialist service.

The device will continuously measure and record in real time glucose levels for up to three days and three nights. By pinpointing the time where the glucose level is less stable, patients can change their insulin regimen accordingly. The sensor gathers the information through a very fine flexible tube – like a piece of fishing line – which is inserted under the skin. It sits around the hip area, and the patient is hardly aware of it. Glucose level information is fed to the device, worn on the patient’s belt, which records the highs and lows and the times when they occurred.

“The device will directly benefit patients,” Diabetes Nurse Practitioner Helen Snell says – “The beauty of the new technology is that the sensor transmits wirelessly making the device less intrusive. “

The Diabetes Society has another donation, made possible by the bequest, planned before the end of the year.

Caption: MidCentral Health Diabetes Nurse Practitioner Helen Snell (right) with the glucose monitoring device presented by Diabetes Manawatu President Adrian Coombe.