MiniMed 670G hybrid closed loop artificial pancreas system for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus: overview of its safety and efficacy

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Automated insulin delivery for people with type 1 diabetes has been a major goal in the diabetes technology field for many years. While a fully automated system has not yet been accomplished, the MiniMed™ 670G artificial pancreas (AP) system is the first commercially available insulin pump that automates basal insulin delivery, while still requiring user input for insulin boluses. Determining the safety and efficacy of this system is essential to the development of future devices striving for more automation.

Areas Covered: This review will provide an overview of how the MiniMed 670G system works including its safety and efficacy, how it compares to similar devices, and anticipated future advances in diabetes technology currently under development.

Expert Opinion: The ultimate goal of advanced diabetes technologies is to reduce the burden and amount of management required of patients with diabetes. In addition to reducing patient workload, achieving better glucose control and improving hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values are essential for reducing the threat of diabetes-related complications further down the road. Current devices come close to reaching these goals, but understanding the unmet needs of patients with diabetes will allow future technologies to achieve these goals more quickly.

KEYWORDS:

• Artificial pancreas (AP)
• automated insulin delivery
• continuous glucose monitor (CGM)
• hybrid closed loop
• insulin pump
• MiniMed 670G
• type 1 diabetes

Article highlights

• Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder causing an insulin deficiency where complications arise when hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) or hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) go untreated.

• The MiniMed 670G System is the first hybrid closed-loop artificial pancreas system that automates basal insulin delivery based on past and present blood glucose values when used in conjunction with the Guardian 3 continuous glucose monitor sensor.

• The MiniMed 670G uses a modified proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control algorithm which takes insulin feedback into account to prevent postprandial hypoglycemia and to achieve a target blood glucose of 120 mg/dL.

• Many studies have been completed verifying the safety of the system and have concluded that the use of the MiniMed 670G results in increased time in the target blood glucose range as well as improved HbA1c values.

• Future advances to diabetes technology are being made in hopes of reducing diabetes burden and management on patients with type 1 diabetes by improving glycemic control and reducing patient intervention.

Information resources

The Medtronic website, https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/products/minimed-670g-insulin-pump-system, provides detailed explanations of what the MiniMed 670G system is, how it works, and why people like using it.

Diabetes technology resources can be found at https://bdcpantherdiabetes.org/ which provides information for clinicians and patients with diabetes about the various advanced diabetes technologies that have been recently released.

Declaration of interest

L.H. Messer has served as a consultant for Tandem Diabetes Care, Clinical Sensors, and Capillary Biomedical, and is a contracted trainer for Medtronic. G.P. Forlenza has received research funding from Medtronic, Dexcom, Abbott, Tandem, Insulet, Bigfoot, Beta Bionics, and TypeZero; he has served as a consultant/speaker for Medtronic, Dexcom, Abbott, Tandem, Insulet, DreaMed, and Lilly. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was funded by an NIH K12 award (NIDDK 2K12DK094712-06).