The Paradigm Veo is the world’s first insulin pump equipped with a Low Glucose Suspend (LGS) function, offering automatic protection from severe hypoglycaemia.
Hypoglycaemia can be one of the most frightening aspects of living with diabetes. Many people also find it extremely difficult to predict – and therefore almost impossible to avoid. There are several causes for hypoglycaemia to consider, one being if your body receives too much insulin. Developments to take 'active insulin' into account in calculating a bolus can help, but it is vitally important to make sure you are not delivering too much insulin to your body when your glucose levels are already low. Unfortunately, this has always been easier said than done, both for pumpers and those using multiple daily injections (MDI).
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Imagine, for example, that your glucose level begins to fall. The Paradigm Veo will recognise this using CGM data and sound an alert so that you can act to prevent a hypoglycaemic event. If you have not responded to this alert and the CGM data is now recognising a dangerously low glucose level, a warning will sound. If, however, you are unable to respond to the warning for some reason, the Paradigm Veo acts quickly to halting insulin delivery for two hours.
This new feature can really help you to put the fear of hypoglycaemia and sever hypoglycaemic excursions firmly behind you.
Eventually, Medtronic hopes to develop a fully-automatic product that will function exactly like a healthy pancreas – monitoring glucose levels and delivering the right amount of insulin without any user intervention whatsoever. With the Paradigm Veo, we have taken a huge stride in the right direction towards ‘Closing the Loop’16.