Scunthorpe Vet Uses Latest Advances In Human Medical Technology to Treat Dog With Diabetes

The veterinary team at Medivet Scunthorpe have recently used cutting-edge glucose monitoring treatment to help a recently-diagnosed diabetic Border Terrier.

John and Zina Kelsey believed that their elderly Terrier Rory had a simple urinary infection and took him for a check-up at the Medivet Bottesford branch. The veterinary team, however, suspected diabetes was the problem and blood tests carried out at neighbouring practice Medivet Scunthorpe confirmed their suspicions.

Veterinary surgeon Dr Kiah Hann worked through the various options with Rory’s owners. Her recommendation was a hi-tec glucose monitoring system developed for humans called FreeStyle Libre Sensor.

Dr Hann explained: “Recent advances in human medicine have devised 'flash glucose monitoring', where a sensor is implanted at the back of the patient's arm. Once installed, a simple scan from a smartphone is able to read the patient’s glucose levels. This, in effect, means that we can keep an eye on the blood readings without extracting blood.”

Rory’s owners agreed that it offered a practical, convenient and innovative solution. John Kelsey said: “As a family, we are not at all phased by technology, so as soon as Dr Hann suggested the monitor, we decided to give it a go to try and give back Rory his quality of life.”

After coming into the practice to have the sensor installed by Dr Hann, Zina was scanning Rory’s blood within an hour. The clever part of the system is that the vet also receives real time updates via a corresponding smartphone app. The data has already proved invaluable as it was discovered that Rory’s blood sugar was dropping a little too low at night. His doses were adjusted accordingly.

We feel it will improve patient outcomes and help owners feel more in control of their pets diabetes treatment.

John Kelsey added: “We couldn’t believe it was so simple to fit and as far as we know it’s a first for the area. The important thing though is that Rory has returned to good health very quickly – and for that, we couldn’t be more grateful.”

Dr Hann said: “While we know that there is currently a shortage of these sensors, it would be great to offer this technological advance as a routine standard of care for our new diabetes patients, once the supply issues have been resolved.

“We feel it will improve patient outcomes and help owners feel more in control of their pets diabetes treatment.”