So my wife has a CGM and is stuck with a fancy pump that is supposed to "automatically" coordinate with her sensor to deliver or reduce insulin when it detects her numbers are too high/low.

I've always been suspicious of the yahoos writing the software that controls these kinds of devices being a security guy and all.

But I also would love to participate in, contribute to or help in any way with reverse engineering, open sourcing, or in some other way making it so that my wife's life isn't dependent upon the quality of software developed by the lowest bidder they could outsource it to.

If anyone knows how I could help please let me know who to reach out to.

> The FDA reports that Freestyle injured over 700 people and killed seven people with this bug. Spcifically, the bug caused the device to falsely report an extremely low glucose level. Advanced stage diabetics use low reading information to inform them that they may have too much insulin currently. The usual remedy is to eat something sugary to raise glucose in the blood. Such should be done only with great care, as a false low reading can harm and even kill the patient (who eats a high-sugar-content item while glucose in the blood is, in fact, not low)

I bet almost everyone with a device with that bug was injured more or less, because high blood sugar is a silent damager of many organs resulting in cumulative damage without overt short term symptoms of injury. For example, slow damage to eyesight, kidneys and nerves in the feet.

>Such should be done only with great care, as a false low reading can harm and even kill the patient (who eats a high-sugar-content item while glucose in the blood is, in fact, not low).

I've been a type I diabetics for over 25 years and I don't quite understand this one. Low blood sugar is an immediate life or death situation, but high blood sugar killing people? Just how high was it and for how long?

As someone that has a CGM I still calibrate it by using a blood test every couple of days because the CGM sensors can wander on accuracy.

I depend on a pump and CGM (currently that's a Dexcom G7 and Omnipod, but I've used other brands as well).

I like the technology, but you have to 1) know your own body and 2) verify if you are uncertain about the readings. Every time I've switched devices I've interacted with diabetes educators, and they pretty much always tell me to always be prepared to verify manually (with an old-school finger stick and test strips).

Additionally, it's not always the fault of the technology, but often where meatspace and technology interface. When you insert a CGM, there's always a risk of the canula not going into the skin correctly. (usually it's a spring-loaded insertion tool and shoot a needle into your skin quickly, but it can mess up if the amount of pressure applied is wrong etc) In such a case, the sensor that measures your blood will often, where you can't see, sit on top of the skin. This results in insanely low readings. That happens to me a few times a year (I swap out the sensor every 10 days), and you have to listen to how your body feels relative to the readings, and replace the sensor if necessary.