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Experiences with Accu-Chek Spirit – A Report by Jan Twachtmann
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In February 2005 I got the Accu-Chek pump as a replacement for my H-Tron pump, which I had got in November 2004. The manufacturer offered an exchange for free, to which, of course, I agreed in thanks.
Size:
The size is very handy, about the size of a mobile phone, maybe a bit wider. In any case, the size is anything but distracting. It will fit well into trouser pockets, at least those of male customers.
The reservoir keeps 300 units and, thus, for me it lasts for five days. I think a container for 300 units is big enough. A smaller reservoir, on the other hand, would be bothersome. A competitor offers products with smaller reservoirs. Those are especially applicable to people who use less than 50 IU a day. To my mind, the difference in size is only marginal anyway.
Outer Appearance:
The pump has got a front display which is too small. A larger one would be desirable. A better resolution would be useful, too. The menu navigation is rather poor. First, one cannot see either the preceding or the following menu item, but only the active one. This makes you scroll through the options too far very often. In addition, there is no explanation given of how to go back in the menu. You do it by pressing the upper button in front and the upper button at the side of the pump at the same time, but I only found that out by accident. This leads straight to the next point - the buttons: there are two buttons right in front on the pump. The lower one confirms selections and, in the basic menu, shows the remaining amount of insulin in the reservoir. The upper one opens and navigates the menu.
The upper button on the right hand side switches on the light. Furthermore, the buttons to the right are used to select the bolus dose. The buttons on the side are so prominent that one can easily operate the pump in trouser pockets. This is definitely a plus of the pump. Thus, one can do easily without a remote control, but it might lead to carelessness in the therapy. However, in the end, this is the user’s responsibility, and not the one of the manufacturer.
On the left hand side there’s the battery and an infrared port. The cover of the battery compartment is manufactured extremely poorly. The plastic is much too soft. One can open it either with the supplied key or with a coin. On holiday I once had the problem that I could not open the cover anymore and the battery had run out. My last resort was vice, hammer and screwdriver, but I’m sure this was not the idea.
On the back, or below respectively, there is information about the date of production, serial number and, what I especially like, the telephone number of the customer service hotline.
The rubber on the side is manufactured poorly, too. It dissolves with time. This doesn’t only lead to the deterioration of the pump, but is surely not supporting leak tightness either. This defect has to be corrected in any case. After all, you are supposed to use the pump for two years.
The Menu:
You can choose from three modes of menu. First, there is the “beginner’s menu”. If you select this one, there are only few menu items available. The question is who needs this. One could possibly call it “child-proof lock - light”.
Available menu items in the “beginner’s mode”:
- standard bolus
- temporary basal rate
- information
- (1 basal rate profile)
- time & date
- setup menu beginner
- selection of user menus
The second mode is the “professional menu”. I have been using this one from the start and it didn’t do any harm. You can’t do anything wrong as long as you are not completely technically untalented or are familiar with pump therapy.
In this mode the following additional items are available:
-
extended bolus
- multiwave bolus
- 5 different basal rate profiles
- alarm clock
- setup menu professional
The real special of this pump, and this is outstanding in comparison with similar devices, is the customized menu. With the help of the company’s software and a particular infrared device, you can create your own individual menu. Of course, the “professional menu” provides the maximum number of available items, but many items, that you wouldn’t use anyway, are dispensable. This spares you much scrolling, whereas I don’t use the menu often anyway.
The necessary software and the accessory peripheral equipment are available for free within a customer test which is apparently not temporary limited.
I think most of the menu explains itself; the extended bolus disperses the insulin over a previously selected period of time. The multiwave bolus then is a mix of the standard bolus and the extended bolus; i.e. the amount X is injected directly, while the amount Y is dispersed over the time span Z. This is very useful when having rich meals like pizza.
Insulin:
The company Insuman provides ready-made ampoules. Those who use other types of insulin shouldn’t be deterred. One can easily fill plastic ampoules (so-called Plastic Cartridges or Reservoirs) oneself. This is even cheaper and it’s done very quickly. One can buy little bottles for this purpose. For some little time now, every reservoir has its own accessory filling device.
Infusion set:
The pump has got a Luer-Lock connector. This is a standardized connection which, amongst others, is used in clinics. Using this connector, you don’t have to use the manufacturer’s catheters, but can choose freely from all providers of insulin pumps. But be careful with infusion sets by Medtronic; their pumps partly use their own connection. That is why you should pay attention to ordering a catheter suitable for Luer-Lock connectors.
2-Pump-System:
The Accu-Chek company works with a 2-pump-system. This means you get two insulin pumps of which each pump can be used for two years. Competitors offer one pump which has a warranty for four years but can be used longer. The advantage of two pumps is obvious. If one pump does not work, you don’t have to wait for a replacement pump, but can use the backup pump instantly. Particularly on holidays this can prevent a lot of stress.
The first pump gives a signal eight weeks before its runtime expires, telling you the remaining time span. Now it makes sense to use the backup pump and put the first one aside as a replacement pump. Thus, a replacement pump is available during the whole four years. A disadvantage is that, after four years, one doesn’t have a functioning pump anymore, because both pumps switch themselves off automatically after a period of two years.
Customer Support:
Unfortunately, I experienced customer service as absolutely incompetent. The saying that “the customer is always right” they don’t even know from hearsay. They always left me on my own with my problems. Sure, when errors occurred, they promptly exchanged the device, but when I complained about having to send in the pump again and again, a completely unmotivated staff member answered that it was a technical device which could just not last for two years. However, I have other expectations of technical devices.
For this reason, and after a complaint to the management, I had the pleasure of talking to the customer relations manager on the phone (at least I don’t think she was the chief executive of the company). She didn’t do anything but look for my mistakes, not investigating the error in the product. A solution to my problem would have helped me more.
However, in this report, I don’t want to keep quiet about the fact that others have only positive experiences with customer support, as I have heard.
Accessories:
There are very useful accessories; above all, I’d like to mention the cases for the pumps. Many of those things can be prescribed and will be paid for by your insurance.
Conclusion:
After about three years I handed back the pump, because too many errors had occurred. Therefore, I changed to another manufacturer. It is striking that the pump is technically very out-dated. In this respect, the display and the fact that there is no possibility of monitoring blood glucose values continuously are relevant. Neither can the pump receive the blood glucose values from other wireless instruments, nor calculate the necessary bolus dose, nor the carbohydrate units belonging to the amount of emitted insulin.
The 2-pump-system itself is very useful, but it shouldn’t induce the manufacturer to botching the product up just because patients always have a backup pump at hand. In my experience, the pump is only mediocre. One should think twice whether another pump might be probably more convenient. By now, there are very good alternatives available. However, those who are looking for a simple but not very innovative device will do well with this pump in any case.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Diabetes-Index Gbr.
Author: Jan Twachtmann (translated by Yvonne Balzer)
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