Information about compatible CGMs

  • Dexcom G4 Platinum System (with or without Share)
  • Dexcom G5 Mobile
  • Medtronic (MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time Revel or Enlite)

The openaps tool set currently primarily supports three different CGM systems: the Dexcom G4 Platinum system (with or without the Share functionality), the newer Dexcom G5 Mobile system and the Medtronic system. Other CGM or CGM-like devices (Libre) can also be used if the data is uploaded to Nightscout and the OpenAPS rig has Internet connectivity.

With Dexcom G4, the Share platform is not required; but is valuable for uploading BG data to the cloud (and into Nightscout, which can then send BGs to the rig). However, without Share, a G4 receiver can instead be plugged in directly to the OpenAPS rig. For Dexcom G5 Mobile you can also use a compatible receiver (software upgraded G4 with Share receiver or a G5 Mobile Receiver), or also pull data from the Dexcom Share servers into Nightscout for use with an Internet-connected OpenAPS rig.

NOTE: You can also pull CGM data from Nightscout as an alternative (including Dexcom G5 to iOS device + Nightscout Bridge plugin), or use xDrip (see below). The Medtronic CGM system communicates directly with the associated pump, so that data can be retrieved using the CareLink USB stick. The Medtronic Minimed 530g Pump’s Enlite CGM Sensors CAN be used with the older OpenAPS compatible Medtronic Pumps (Despite that pump originally being offered with SoftSensor CGM Sensors).

Using the Dexcom receiver CGM

This refers to the Dexcom receiver hardware. Note that your Dexcom should be nearly fully charged before plugging it in to a Raspberry Pi or Edison-based OpenAPS rigs. If, when you plug in your receiver, it causes your WiFi dongle to stop blinking, that is a sign that it is drawing too much power and needs to be charged. Once the receiver is fully charged, it will stay charged when connected to the rig.

Pulling CGM data from the cloud

Your OpenAPS implementation can also pull CGM data from a Nightscout site in addition to pulling from the CGM directly. You can find more documentation about pulling CGM data from a Nightscout site here.

  • If you have an Android phone, you can use the xDrip app to get your data from the Dexcom to Nightscout, to then be used in OpenAPS.
  • If you have a Share receiver follow these directions to set up your Android uploader and Nightscout website.
  • You could also build a DIY receiver. Directions to build the receiver, set up your uploader and Nightscout can be found here.
  • You can also use part of the DIY receiver set up - the wixel – directly to the raspberry pi. Learn more about the wixel setup here and here.
  • If you are using Abbott Freestyle Libre in combination with Sony smartwach 3 and xdrip+ (or possibly other combinations of technology to get Libre data up into the cloud), you can also pull CGM data directly from Nightscout.

Using the Medtronic CGM

Because the Medtronic pump collects data directly from the Enlite sensors, OpenAPS will retrieve CGM data in addition to your regular pump data from your pump. While you use the same OpenAPS commands to get it, the Medtronic CGM data may need a little special formatting after being retrieved. If so, it will be specified in other areas of the documentation.

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