How it started...

As an endocrinologist, I was delighted when the first closed-loop system (then the MiniMed 670G) finally became available in Belgium in 2019. I had been looking forward to being able to offer this to our patients with (type 1) diabetes for years because the results are truly superior to any other form of insulin delivery. 

Unexpected barriers

At that time, however, we had no experience with Medtronic pumps, let alone the MiniMed 670G. This system was then presented as something very difficult and complicated to learn, which made our team hesitate to start and/or offer it to our patients. The company could only come and explain after we decided how many pumps we were going to buy, and it was very difficult to get our whole team together for the various 2-hour education sessions, which were also postponed a few times due to corona. Finally, there was talk of providing the reimbursement of closed-loop systems only to centers with experience, so that we, like the majority of the diabetes centers, might be excluded. 

This is how our team was prepared for closed-loop therapy

However, I believed there must be a better way to teach this new technology to our team and to every diabetes team in a fast and efficient way, so that every patient with diabetes can receive the best care. That's how I got the idea to make an online course about it, which would be time and cost efficient. I read the instructions for use several times before and wore the pumps and sensors myself, trying to summarize all of the information I could find from every reliable source imaginable. I filmed the actions and learned how to make video edits and courses. Thanks to these courses, our team gained confidence in their knowledge, and our patients now have something to fall back on if they have forgotten something.

I have already created several online courses about closed-loop systems, and with each version the content gets stronger and better. In the meantime, we have also been able to build up quite a bit of experience with the Minimed 780G, and I was asked by various companies and by the Diabetes Liga to speak about it as an expert.

I graduated as an endocrinologist in 2013

 I work at the AZ St-Lucas Hospital in Ghent, and as a consultant at the University Hospital in Ghent (Belgium). I am also president of the Belgian Professional Society of Endocrino-Diabetologists, and board member of the Diabetes Liga.

I am driven to improve diabetes care. My goal is to lower the barrier to diabetes technology by educating people with diabetes and their caregivers about diabetes technology in a quick and easy way. I have developed this website for this purpose with an ebook, a blog and an online course. I have walked around with sensors and pumps several times to experience for myself what the main difficulties are, and I am constantly looking for the latest news and innovations in diabetes technology.

My vision

 I believe that diabetes technology is the standard of care for people with diabetes, and that we are in the midst of a true technological revolution. This technology will substantially improve glycemic control in people with diabetes and significantly reduce micro- and macrovascular complications. In order to be able to provide the best care to people with diabetes, it is therefore of the utmost importance that healthcare providers (and also the people with diabetes themselves) continuously receive further training on the latest developments. Because it is difficult to build up experience, it is essential that the matter is regularly repeated.

Unfortunately, this continuous training is insufficiently offered, certainly not when it comes to the practical aspects of sensors and pumps, and the most recent developments. However, physical training is difficult to organize and is often canceled due to corona.

And that's a shame, because this makes healthcare providers feel insufficiently familiar with diabetes technology, so that they do not recommend and initiate this enough, and people with diabetes miss out on a lot of health benefits.

That is why I provide 24/7 access to the most relevant information about diabetes technology via this website, so that people with diabetes can always receive the best care.