Tag: Blood Glucose Meters

Apple Watch May Have a DexCom Diabetes Glucose App

It seems I may re-consider my opinions about the Apple Watch. I had written is off as too expensive for day to day use. Wristwatches tend to get scratched and dinged and the Apple Watch is expensive but not luxurious. It’s not a Rolex or Blancpain. It’s not something one would keep for a lifetime and it becomes a family heirloom.

But … if this is correct, I may be able to use the Apple Watch to help with my diabetes management. Dexcom, the company the article says makes the glucose app, is also the company that makes the Dexcom G4 Platinum CGMS that I use currently.

Designed by medical products maker DexCom, the app will track and display your glucose levels on your watch in the form of a graph, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The goal is to help diabetics easily and quickly read their glucose, or blood sugar, levels by simply glancing at the app. DexCom's glucose monitor uses a tiny sensor placed under the skin to measure glucose levels every five minutes, the Journal said. The app itself is expected to be available in April, the same time the Apple Watch itself will reach consumers.Apple Watch app will track glucose levels for diabetics

A glucose meter in the eye

Google Labs developed a diabetes glucose meter inside a contact lens.

An early, outsourced clinical research study with real patients was encouraging, but there are many potential pitfalls yet to come, said University of North Carolina diabetes researcher Dr. John Buse, who was briefed by Google on the lens last week.

“This has the potential to be a real game changer,” he said, “but the devil is in the details.”

Among those is figuring out how to correlate glucose levels in tears as compared with blood. And what happens on windy days, while chopping onions or during very sad movies? As with any medical device, it would need to be tested and proved accurate, safe, and at least as good as other types of glucose sensors available now to win FDA approval.Associated Press in the Washington Post

I'm skeptical. I've seen so many attempts at making pain-free-zero-blood glucose meters. All have failed to produce accurate and consistent results. It would seem there is no substitute to measuring blood serum.

Why the ACCU-CHEK Nano is not for me.

Earlier today I explained why I could no longer use Sanofi’s iBGStar glucose meter. I wrote that I would be taking a look at the new ACCU-CHEK Nano. I’ve been watching the ads on television and I took a quick look at the device when I picked up my last bottle of BGStar test strips. The Nano has a sleek modern design and more accurate test strips. I thought it would be a great replacement for the iBGStar. Nope!

One of the reasons I was excited about the iBGStar is that I could download data from the device directly into my an iPhone app, add details about my meals and insulin dosage and spot trends. Most meters on the market allow the user to download data — with the right cable — to a Windows application. Mac user? Forget about it. As far as the device manufacturers are concerned, you don not exist. That seems to be ACCU-CHEK’s position as well. ACCU-CHEK offers diabetes management software — you’ll need a special cable — but … it’s Windows only.

To run the ACCU-CHEK® 360° diabetes management system, your computer system must have at least:
Windows® 2000, XP, XP Professional, Vista®, or Windows® 7

You know what. Meter manufacturers suck.

Sigh! That ends the idea of using that meter. I’m a Mac. That won’t change in my lifetime unless Apple goes out of business. I just checked Bayer’s Contour USB out online. The technical FAQ says that the device is supported on Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). I’m hoping it works on Lion (OS X 10.7) and Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8). The insurance company covers both the meter and the test strips. Time to place an order.