Free Republic

You’ll want to be ready if you find yourself on the receiving end of a Kate Hall medicine ball toss. I wasn’t. During a midday early May workout, Hall recruited me to catch her throws and roll the ball back to her. I moved to the middle of the infield at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland, Maine. From just inside the track, Hall sprang forward and heaved the 8-pound ball. Next thing I knew, the ball landed just in front of me, bounced, and crashed into my chest. It left a red mark on my sternum that lingered for a week....

Over a median of 3.5 years, the devices worked better at controlling blood sugar, researchers say Devices called insulin pumps may work better at controlling blood sugar in children with type 1 diabetes than insulin injections, a new study finds. They might also cause fewer complications, the Australian researchers said. "This is the largest study of insulin-pump use in children," wrote a team led by Dr. Elizabeth Davis of the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth. "It also has the longest follow-up period of any study of insulin-pump therapy in children. Our data confirm that insulin-pump therapy provides an...

Doctors are reporting a major step toward an “artificial pancreas,” a device that would constantly monitor blood sugar in people with diabetes and automatically supply insulin as needed. A key component of such a system—an insulin pump programmed to shut down if blood sugar dips too low while people are sleeping—worked as intended in a three-month study of 247 patients. This “smart pump,” made by Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc., is already sold in Europe, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing it now. Whether it also can be programmed to mimic a real pancreas and constantly adjust insulin based...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Digital Angel Corporation a patent for its syringe-implantable glucose-sensing RFID microchip, Digital Angel announced today. The RFID microchip measures the glucose concentration levels of diabetic patients and will be marketed and distributed by Digital Angel's sister company, VeriChip, as an extension to the company's products benefiting people. "A glucose-sensing microchip could profoundly impact the 230 million people worldwide living with diabetes," said Digital Angel CEO and President, Kevin McGrath. "Patent approval for this RFID microchip is a major step in bringing this life-altering technology to market. It also underscores Digital Angel's commitment...