What is Automated Insulin Delivery?
Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) systems automatically adjust insulin delivery to help control blood glucose levels, reduce hypoglycemia, and increase time in range1. AID systems are often called hybrid closed loop systems and allow for a complete circle of communication between a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and insulin Pod/pump.
A hybrid closed loop of control
AID systems create a circle of constant communication between your diabetes devices.
Generally, every 5 minutes:
- The CGM reports your glucose levels to the insulin pump or Pod
- The pump or Pod then adjusts its insulin delivery using an insulin control algorithm
- The CGM picks up on any changes to your glucose level, reports that to the insulin pump or Pod, and so on
With AID systems, users still need to bolus for meals. With Omnipod 5, this is done with the Omnipod 5 App or Omnipod 5 Controller that is provided with your first prescription.
New to CGMs?
These wearable glucose monitors are an essential piece of AID systems. They can also tell you a lot about your personal glucose trends. Get all the facts.
The real sciencey side
AID systems contain algorithm software, the “brains” of the system, that crunch the numbers to predict where glucose levels are headed and tell the pump what to do.
- An eye to the future: The Omnipod 5 SmartAdjust™ technology predicts trends 60 minutes out and automatically adjusts insulin delivery using the users set glucose target, helping to protect against highs and lows2 during the day and while you’re sleeping.
The real-life side
AID systems can lessen the burden of managing your diabetes, helping you feel free from having to think about manually controlling it around the clock, especially during times of increased hypoglycemia risk.
- Activity with a few taps: For times when your blood glucose typically goes low, like during exercise, enabling the Omnipod 5 Activity feature will automatically reduce insulin delivery.
Pump to Pod: A tubeless, wireless shift
AID has already been available with traditional insulin pumps, but the release of Omnipod 5 marks the first and only tubeless AID system in the US. Rather than controlling everything through a pump with tubes, the Omnipod 5 App gives full control of the Pod, right from a compatible smartphone. You know you’re looking at it all day, anyway.
See our full list of compatible smartphones.
Curious about Omnipod 5?
Learn all about the only tubeless AID system available.
2. Brown S. et al. Diabetes Care. 2021;44:1630-1640. Prospective pivotal trial in 240 participants with T1D aged 6 - 70 yrs [adults/adolescents (n= 128; aged 14-70 yrs) children (n=112; aged 6-13.9 yrs)]. Study included a 14-day standard therapy (ST) phase followed by a 3-month Omnipod 5 hybrid closed-loop phase. Mean time >180 mg/dL in adults/adolescents and children, ST vs. 3-mo Omnipod 5: 32.4% vs. 24.7%; 45.3% vs. 30.2%, P<0.0001, respectively. Median time <70 mg/dL in adults/adolescents and children, ST vs. 3-mo Omnipod 5: 2.0% vs. 1.1%, P<0.0001; 1.4% vs. 1.5%, P=0.8153, respectively. Results measured by CGM.