The MyLife OmniPod is a patch pump – meaning it is ‘tubeless’. It uses a handheld device and an on-the-body ‘pod’ which is where the insulin is stored and delivered. The pod is controlled by the handheld device by remote control. Pods are inserted at the push of a button, so no needles are seen or touched. The handheld device (what they refer to as the PDM, or personal diabetes monitor) is used this to set basal and bolus rates via a colour screen. It has an integrate library of more than 1,000 everyday food items that makes carb-counting and bolus calculation fast and easy. The PDM also houses a built-in FreeStyle blood glucose meter. It was created by the father of a child with diabetes who gathered the best diabetes and technology experts he could find to form the Insulet Corporation. His aim was to improve on the traditional insulin pump. Consequently the OmniPod Insulin Management System was launched in the US in 2005. For the last year the system has been distributed in the UK via Ypsomed AG. The data system used is called the CoPilot Health Management System.
“The Pod can be worn wherever an injection would be possible. The PDM simply stays in your handbag or backpack.”
