Sometimes a dry press release gives a tantalizing glimpse into the pipeline of a medical tech company.
Today, Tandem released news that it has been awarded a patent for a software application that would allow a pump user to use a “remote consumer electronic device” to “initiate, program and deliver a medicament bolus to a patient using a medical infusion pump.” In other words, this patent is for an app which would allow a pump user to use a smartphone or smartphone-like device to deliver a bolus for a yet-unnamed Tandem pump. It should be noted that a patent is just the first formal step in getting an idea to market.
If this feature gets approved by the FDA in the future, it might be made available as a software upgrade for some Tandem pump users through the Tandem Device Updater program. Such a patent also might come in handy with, say, an automated insulin pump system that Tandem, and every other pump company, is in the process of developing. And finally, the feature in line with Tandem’s smartphone-interface design ethos. Medtronic may have the clear lead in the automated pump market at the moment with the release of the 670G pump system, but Tandem has long since staked out its claim for slick pump system design.
Of course, all the slick design in the world won’t do Tandem much good if Medtronic continues to separate itself from the pack as the automated pump company. Tandem plans to introduce a pump system with predictive low glucose suspend next summer, with the goal of a hybrid closed loop automated pump system launching in late 2018. Presumably, the software in question would be part of these two systems.
Neither Insulin Nation, nor its parent company Self Rx, received compensation, nor promise of compensation from Tandem or Medtronic for editorial coverage on this or any subject. No advertiser is allowed any input into editorial content, and advertising content is clearly marked as such.
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