
Detailed Review of the MiniMed 670G from Medtronic
The MiniMed 670G from Medtronic is an insulin pump coupled with a glucose sensor. It uses a computer program (called an “algorithm”) to automate certain aspects of insulin delivery. I decided to try the 670G partially out of professional interest (everybody and their great aunt have been asking for my opinion on the system), and partially out of personal interest, as my blood glucose control hasn’t been the greatest the past couple of years.
Let me start out by saying this:
Since I started using 670G, my overall blood glucose control is better.
I have to keep reminding myself of this non-inconsequential fact, because every day I find things about this system that I don’t particularly like.
In my opinion, the pump itself leaves a lot to be desired. There are so many features and so many menus and so many safety/confirmation steps that my button thumb is starting to form a blister. The color screen is nice, but not large enough to display everything it needs to display. And the freakin’ clip is upside down. The reservoir connector pokes me in the gut every time I bend over, and I have to unclip it to see the screen and programming menus in the proper orientation.
The “hybrid closed loop” part of the system (what I prefer to call the “semi-automatic feature”) is what makes 670G special. It functions by making adjustments to the BASAL insulin based on data received from the linked glucose sensor. Since previous-generation Medtronic sensors (Sof-Sensor, Enlite) were, shall we say, less than optimal, I went into this highly skeptical. After all, if the sensor is
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