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The benefits of Integrated CGM vs standalone system

J

Jemzor

Well-Known Member
Looking specifically at the Dexcom G4 vs Animas Vibe and besides cost and a single unit to carry, what other benefits are there?

For instance does the Vibe automatically 'pick up' the CGM reading for when caclulating bolus required without having to manually input it?

I'm just looking at the option of using a medtronic pump with a Dexcom vs a Vibe.

I'm also wondering whether I'll be stuck with a superseded system if going with a Vibe for when the new generation of Dexcom is out (I know this will be tricky to address without knowing much about what this will entail)

Thanks.
 
With any CGM you still need to finger poke to bolus for food or any corrections. CGM's are not 100% accurate :) The CGM reading is obviously on your pump screen so all you do is poke a button and it shows what is going on.
 
Cost is a major factor - intergrated is about 1000 cheaper setup and running costs are much cheaper as you can buy from animas.

Also waterproof. You have no idea how good that is!!
 
@CarbsRok yes I realise that blood testing is still required (and I actually welcome it for the sake of confidence :)). I'm mainly interested in trends during training and during the night where finger tests are a little more tricky. But in terms of actual use of the Vibe for CGM purposes, are you aware of any functionality benefits over using the standalone G4 system?

@Engineer88, I've calculated £900 difference between the 2 options which is line with your number (and the cost of the Vibe CGM being almost 50% of the cost of Medtronic CGM, based on user feedback over longitivity of sensors)

The latest Medtronic available through the clinic (640g) is also waterproof to IPX8 which for me is a must due to the amount of time I spend in water/thermal areas. Or were you referring specifically to the Dexcom receiver?
 
Jemzor said:
@CarbsRok yes I realise that blood testing is still required (and I actually welcome it for the sake of confidence :)). I'm mainly interested in trends during training and during the night where finger tests are a little more tricky. But in terms of actual use of the Vibe for CGM purposes, are you aware of any functionality benefits over using the standalone G4 system?
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I can't compare as only had the CGM with the pump. Having the lot integrated in the pump obviously means less stuff to carry around your person. Pump is attached and sensor stuck in arm :)
 
I have the stand alone, when I made my choice I had no other option. Plus the CGM I choose at the time was the cheapest (over a year) and best performing, also life of the sensors could be manually extended which was not available on others at that time.

There has been a lot of work on adding bluetooth to CGM's recently so you can display your data on your phone too. I'm soon about to do a self build Dexdrip to try this out.

I need to remote control my pump so the vibe today would not fit my lifestyle - but if I never had this need then I would probably go down the Vibe route.
 
It has been blowing in the wind, but there should be another stand alone cgm later this year so thst will be 4 companies competing against each other over accuracy, longevity and price.
 
iHs said:
It has been blowing in the wind, but there should be another stand alone cgm later this year so thst will be 4 companies competing against each other over accuracy, longevity and price.
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Hooray. Do we have any indication of where this is coming from? I got a quote on the navigator recently. Is it worth us having a page with cgm pricing set up on DCUK so all can be compared equally and openly?
 
Sorry, no idea.....sometimes you can find out stuff by looking at the diabetes conferences and look at cgm technology and pumps. Best person to question will be yr consultant as they might know.
 
Chas C said:
I have the stand alone, when I made my choice I had no other option. Plus the CGM I choose at the time was the cheapest (over a year) and best performing, also life of the sensors could be manually extended which was not available on others at that time.

There has been a lot of work on adding bluetooth to CGM's recently so you can display your data on your phone too. I'm soon about to do a self build Dexdrip to try this out.

I need to remote control my pump so the vibe today would not fit my lifestyle - but if I never had this need then I would probably go down the Vibe route.
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There is also the likely prospect of bluetooth integration with Apple products. Dexcom have supposedly prepared the apps and are waiting for the official launch of the Apple Watch which will serve a similar function to the Dexdrip and the Pebble watch for IOS users.

I think it's difficult to deny that Dexcom is ahead of the game in regards to CGM.
 
Dexcom are also the cgm of choice for tslim and Animas, although we haven't seen the tslim pump in Europe yet.
 
Jemzor said:
There is also the likely prospect of bluetooth integration with Apple products. Dexcom have supposedly prepared the apps and are waiting for the official launch of the Apple Watch which will serve a similar function to the Dexdrip and the Pebble watch for IOS users.

I think it's difficult to deny that Dexcom is ahead of the game in regards to CGM.
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There's a new Dexcom 5 in the pipe line, but, Dexcom are now shipping in the US only for new products and have yet to get FDA approval for the Dex 5. On the bright side it will not need a receiver and will BT direct to your phone (be interesting to see the new TX battery life (expect it will be BTLE).

There are others who are building their own BT capable receivers to replace the Dexcom Receiver, using Dex 4 and passing data to Android phones, lets hope soon we get an IOS version.
 
It seems crazy that they won't supply Europe before the U.S. whilst having to wait for FDA approval. Why not do what Medtronic did with the 640g and getting sales and approvals running parallel?
 
Jemzor said:
For instance does the Vibe automatically 'pick up' the CGM reading for when caclulating bolus required without having to manually input it?
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No. Irritatingly. It appears to be 'by design'. Like it's a safety feature or something. Otherwise it would be a kind of semi-automatic artificial pancreas, you could just hit a correction bolus every thirty minutes and have the follow up alarm configured for 30 minutes.
It's a great shame.
 
Jemzor said:
It seems crazy that they won't supply Europe before the U.S. whilst having to wait for FDA approval. Why not do what Medtronic did with the 640g and getting sales and approvals running parallel?
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Particularly given that European approval is quicker, easier and more expensive than FDA approval. Which is we got the Dexcom G4 first and the Vibe first.
 
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