Skip to content

2023-11-19

Welcome to News from Loop and Learn

Published on 19 November 2023.

In this edition:

Upcoming Zoom Sessions

Zoom Sessions use this link:

Topic Recorded? Time Date
Loop and Learn: Informal Discussion no 19:00 UTC 30 Nov

Time Zone Converter

Need help figuring out when an event happens in your time zone? Try the SavvyTime: UTC Converter.

Video Replay

Many sessions are recorded. The full list is found here:

9000 Members

Loop and Learn Facebook group has grown to 9,000 members as of this past week! We are grateful for all the help our members give each other and welcome our new members. Please note that when you invite new members to join, we’d appreciate your sending them the link to our group instead of hitting the “Invite” button, so that they will be directed to answer our mandatory group questions. This makes the joining process quicker and more seamless.

Loop and Learn: Facebook link

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LOOPandLEARN

D-Data ExChange

Thanks to Mike Plante, Loop and Learn administrator and group expert for these meeting highlights!

Last week, several Loop and Learn team members attended the DiabetesMine Fall 2023 Innovation Summit and d-data exChange in San Diego, California. It’s a smaller conference but it focuses on the bleeding edge of diabetes technology and innovation. Over the course of two days, many fascinating presentations were given, ranging from a start-up’s debut to commercial Goliaths putting their newest products on display.

Kicking off the event was Dean Kamen. He is the inventor (1976) of the first wearable insulin pump, AutoSyringe. He also developed the iBot which led to the Segway. Other projects include the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine and the FIRST Robotics Competition and don't miss this cool advertisement created when the competition went global: FIRST Global - Not A Robot. His current projects include both mass producing beta cell lines for research and a new insulin pump that delivers in the intradermal layer instead of the subcutaneous layer which should make it faster and more efficient.

Later in the event, there was also a presentation for a new open source CGM that reads glucose in the intradermal layer with essentially no lag time.

Event activities also included a fashion show and crafts session with diabetes supplies and a brainstorming session about the pros and cons of real time CGM access in the healthcare realm.

Since d-data was the birthplace of the #WeAreNotWaiting movement, in 2013, it was appropriate that DIY legend Ben West gave a presentation on keeping diabetes open source innovation alive. Other open source presentations included iAPS, and a new fully closed loop (FCL) system by Nascence Biomed combining an offshoot of AndroidAPS with proprietary commercial pump drivers, and Boost which utilizes heart rate and a step counter to help automate an FCL.

As intriguing as the presentations were, though, I think the networking and meeting so many other like-minded individuals from across the DIY diabetes community was my favorite part. There’s just something about being with so many other people who understand what we’re all going through and who are constantly pushing for new innovations. We even went out for pizza and gelato where a whole table didn’t bolus and just let their DIY system automate everything for them.

Diabetes Awareness Month

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. How aware are you of the many resources at your disposal for making the MOST of your DIY Closed-Loop Insulin Delivery System app? Here are some links:

Diabetes Advantages

Here are some actual advantages that people living with type 1 diabetes may be able to enjoy.

  • Disney guests with type 1 diabetes qualify for Disney Disability Access Pass, which allows the qualifying guest and their party to obtain return times for rides and avoid much of the line. Other amusement parks may have similar services.
  • Type 1 diabetes qualifies one for a free lifetime pass to U.S. National Parks, monuments and landmarks. Here’s an article about the pass, with some great tips.
  • When traveling via air or going to the movies or other “restricted” places, people with type 1 diabetes have the ability to do things like take your own snacks in and get priority boarding, if needed.
  • College students living with T1D may have numerous allowances, such as registering early for classes, priority dorm selection, excused absences, and more!

Happy Thanksgiving

The U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving on November 23, 2023. See this helpful article on the Loop and Learn website for tips that apply to all food-oriented holidays- we have a few coming up!