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| The t:slim insulin pump--Courtesy of Tandem |
Tandem Diabetes Care ($TNDM), the maker of the t:slim insulin pump, has partnered with open-source software provider Tidepool. The deal is expected to better enable diabetes patients using the pump to download and access data from their device.
Enabling more sophisticated use of and access to data from existing as well as new insulin pumps and glucose monitors has become a top priority within the industry as diabetic patients and healthcare providers raise their expectations.
The t:slim pump will use the open-source Tidepool Platform, which is still in development. The software is expected to enable providers or patients to upload therapy data from their insulin pump at home or healthcare clinics using a Tidepool device uploader. The first application in development from Tidepool is Blip, which is designed to display data from multiple devices including insulin pumps, blood glucose meters and continuous glucose monitors.
The t:slim is the slimmest and smallest durable insulin pump that is on the market and the only one with a high-resolution, color touch screen, according to the company. During the first nine months of 2014, Tandem sold almost 6,900 of the t:slim pumps for $31.8 million in sales. It has two new versions of the insulin pump that are under review by the Food and Drug Administration.
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| Kim Blickenstaff |
"Tidepool's development efforts align with our philosophy that data empowers people with diabetes and their health care providers to make more informed decisions about their care," Kim Blickenstaff, president and chief executive officer of Tandem, said in a statement.
The Tidepool software is expected to complement the existing data management software on the t:slim insulin to download data from it to a computer. Earlier this month, Tandem also partnered with Diasend Clinic, which offers healthcare providers an online tool to collect and centrally store their diabetes patients' data.The new partnership is expected to further enhance patient and provider options for displaying data about their disease and therapies.
Tandem has shed 44% in 2014 to hit a market cap of about $340 million after a January recall of t:slim insulin pump cartridges eroded investor confidence. The company went public in 2013.
- here is the release