FDA clears first use of smartphone app for insulin delivery

Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the first smartphone app to deliver insulin using the t:connect app from Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc.

"This FDA clearance further validates our commitment to innovation and the diabetes community by providing one of the most requested feature enhancements," John Sheridan, president and CEO of Tandem Diabetes Care said in a statement.

The FDA action clears use of the app for insulin delivery using both Android and iOS phones.

Tandem Diabetes Care said the t:connect app is a secure, user-friendly mobile app that's paired with the t:slim X2 insulin pump.

The company said the mobile app displays the last 24 hours of glucose trends, pump status changes and insulin therapy data, including basal and bolus deliveries and suspensions of insulin delivery.

The app also displays pump alerts and alarms, and it securely uploads data into the cloud-based t:connect web application wirelessly.

The t:slim X2 insulin pump functions independently from the t:connect mobile app, so a user always retains the freedom to view pump therapy data, program requests and cancel bolus insulin requests from their pump.

"With the improvements in diabetes management provided by Tandem's Control-IQ technology, giving a meal bolus is now the most common reason a person interacts with their pump, and the ability to do so using a smartphone app offers a convenient and discrete solution," Sheridan said in the company press statement Friday.