DBlogWeek 2012 Day 4: Technology I want.

Tell us what your Fantasy Diabetes Device would be?  Think of your dream blood glucose checker, delivery system for insulin or other meds, magic carb counter, etc etc etc.  The sky is the limit – what would you love to see?

Well, first the obvious:  No more fingerpricks, no more shots, no more carb counting, no more mind games, no more highs, no more lows, no more all of it...and no more of all of it without the use of immunosuppressant drugs!!!

But...since that sounds like a "cure", and this post is meant to dream up a technological wish list, I'll skip the "cure" part, and go straight to my list of demands:

• I'd like insulin to change colors when it's lost it's potency and shouldn't be used.  And I'm not talking about a subtle color change, either.  Like NEON GREEN or something.  If it's a hot Arizona  115 degree day, and you see NEON GREEN in the tubing...or you pull out the last of a NEON GREEN vial from the fridge...or your mail order arrives, but you aren't home so they leave it on the doorstep...you would know by the NEON GREEN appearance right away that the insulin should not be used.  (Oh, and I'd like pharmacies to replace said NEON GREEN vials without arguing.  It's not my fault this stuff is so temperamental, but I paid a full copay for a full vial.  It seems reasonable to expect that my full vial will work down to the very last drop, and, if it doesn't, I'd like it replaced without a headache.)

• You know those pulse oximeter things that are used to get a quick measurement of oxygen saturation levels?  Yah.  Well, I'd like to slip a sensor on a finger, and get an accurate glucose reading with an arrow indicator.  I'd also like it to have a USB port, so all the data could be uploaded to a very user friendly program that will detect patterns and make suggestions regarding dosage changes.

• I'd like a pump with an integrated CGM that can be operated by a remote with an LCD touch screen.  I want the remote to have a texting feature, so my daughter could send real time screen shots with questions as necessary.  I'd like the pump to be as lightweight as possible, and I also want it to have a retractable tubing feature.  In addition, I want the CGM to be so incredibly accurate that the pump can detect both glucose and insulin levels and adjust accordingly without much thought on behalf of the person wearing it (or their parents!!).  I'd also like it to have a voice recognition/activation feature, so the user has an option to tell it to program and deliver a bolus for "X" amount of carbs instead of always having to push buttons.  Regarding the previously mentioned finger sensor glucose readings, I'd like both technologies to communicate so calibrations can be done with minimal effort on behalf of the user.

• Back to that texting feature, I'd also like the ability to program alerts to as many cell phone numbers as I choose.  So, I could decide which phones would be receiving what alerts at what time.  If she's at school and dropping fast, it would alert me at home, her dad at work, and her nurse in the health office.  The nurse could just send a quick text message with an update or questions as needed. On the weekends, I may disable the nurse's number, and program a friend's parent during a sleepover.  Or a babysitter on date night.  Distance wouldn't matter -- I could be on the other side of the globe, but it would continue to alert my cell phone number until I tell it not to. 

• In addition, I'd like to be able to access the CGM graph remotely...both from the fancy schmancy pump remote, and also via any programmed cell phone.  I want to be able to pull up a live CGM graph via my phone and browse the history.  When a phone number is disabled, this information would not be available.

• Lastly, I want both the pump and remote to have a GPS device.  Should we lose the remote, we could find it quickly, but more importantly, I would be able to locate my daughter in the event she was ever missing.  

Oh, man...I could totally keep going!!!

But...sigh...since this is all a daydream anyway, I suppose I'd better get on with the rest of my day!

Peace out, Friends!