Journal of diabetes science and technology
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J Diabetes Sci Technol · Mar 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyImpact of a modified needle tip geometry on penetration force as well as acceptability, preference, and perceived pain in subjects with diabetes.
Multiple factors impact subcutaneous insulin injection pain. Injection devices [e.g., syringe or pen needle (PN)] affect pain due to needle length, diameter, needle polishing and lubrication, and needle tip geometry. ⋯ Needle tip geometry affects penetration force. When blinded, patients did not distinguish differences in PN tip geometry with fine-gauge PN insertions. A 5-bevel needle tip is perceived as less painful and is preferred by subjects following home use for usual injections. Similar results occurred when patients were informed that they were using a needle with a modified tip.
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Control of blood glucose (BG) in an acceptable range is a major therapy target for diabetes patients in both the hospital and outpatient environments. This review focuses on the state of point-of-care (POC) glucose monitoring and the accuracy of the measurement devices. The accuracy of the POC glucose monitor depends on device methodology and other factors, including sample source and collection and patient characteristics. ⋯ In general, currently available POCGMDs exhibit the greatest accuracy within the range of physiological glucose levels but become less reliable at the lower and higher ranges of BG levels. This issue raises serious safety concerns and the importance of understanding the limitations of POCGMDs. This review will discuss potential interferences and shortcomings of the current POCGMDs and stress when these may impact the reliability of POCGMDs for clinical decision-making.
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J Diabetes Sci Technol · Mar 2012
ReviewThe role of human factors in the design and development of an insulin pump.
This article discusses human factors (HF) processes and how they are applied during the development of a medical device to minimize the risk that the user interface design could lead to patient errors, adverse events, and product recalls. This process is best defined as "prevention through design." The HF design process is exemplified by three distinct phases: (1) preliminary analysis, (2) formative design evaluation and modification, and (3) design validation. Additional benefits of employing HF principles during medical device development are briefly reviewed, including reduced patient risk by eliminating design flaws, increased patient adherence through the reduction in the complexity of therapeutic regimes, and reduced likelihood for product recalls.
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J Diabetes Sci Technol · Mar 2012
Multicenter StudyGlucose measurement of intensive care unit patient plasma samples using a fixed-wavelength mid-infrared spectroscopy system.
Glycemic control is a rapidly developing field in intensive care medicine with the aim of reducing mortality, morbidity, and cost. Current intensive care unit (ICU) glucose measurement technologies are susceptible to interference from medications, volume expanders, and other substances present in critically ill patients. We hypothesized that a fixed-wavelength mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy system would be accurate for measuring glucose levels of ICU patients. ⋯ These results suggest that a fixed-wavelength mid-IR spectrometer can measure glucose accurately in the plasma of ICU patients.