Looks Like The End Of Finger Pricking For Diabetics.

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Looks Like The End Of Finger Pricking For Diabetics.

I was researching type 1 & type 2 diabetes and I came across this news article below...

It looks like this will be the end of having to prick your fingers for diabetics which is great. (Read till the end).

I was wondering if any of you have heard of this, and if any one is using this new device as of today. Thanks for any information.


Source: https://qz.com/1090683/blood-glucose-tests-for-diabetes-no-longer-require-finger-pricks/


For people that don't like links... Article date... September 2017...

People living with diabetes have to prick their fingers to check their blood sugar levels anywhere from one to seven times a day.
But now, there’s a better way to monitor blood sugar. This week, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first at-home, needleless system for continuously monitoring glucose for people with diabetes.



The system, called FreeStyle Libre Flash, and manufactured by the DC-based Abbott Laboratories, allows users to forgo finger-pricking for up to 10 days at a time.


The Flash is essentially a small, circular plastic sensor that sits on top of the skin and detects blood sugar from a small wire that goes under the skin beneath the sensor. People can insert themselves using an applicator that works sort of like a rubber stamp.


Once people have applied the sensor on their arms, they can wave a mobile device a little smaller than a smartphone in front of it to read glucose levels. It takes about 12 hours for the wire to become adjusted to the person’s body, but afterward the device takes continuous data that tracks blood sugar over time for over a week. Afterward, you peel the sensor off slowly, and apply a new one.


Ideally, this would encourage people with diabetes to check their blood sugar more routinely, Jared Watkin, senior vice president of Abbott’s Diabetes Care unit, told Reuters. Often, people will forgo checking their sugar levels as often as they should because finger pricking can be such a nuisance. Right now it’s only marketed for adults, but the company hopes to receive approval for children under 18 as well.


Abbott already has one needle-free blood sugar monitoring system available for the public called the FreeStyle Libre Pro. However, users have to make a special trip to the doctor’s office to have the wire placed under the skin every two weeks. The convenience of using the Flash entirely at home is a significant upgrade, although people will still need to visit their doctor’s office for an initial prescription.


Already, the FreeStyle Libre Flash is available in 41 other countries, the Chicago Tribune reports. There’s no word on how expensive it will be for patients, but in Europe they go for about $69. Abbott says they hope to start selling these devices to the public by the end of the year.

silverharp

I'm not diabetic but I am curious to check my insulin reaction to different foods, there are a bunch of reviews on Youtube. this one if I remember you wear a sensor for 2 weeks and scan the device over it to update the readings 3 times a day. there is another product that relays it real time.
I was trying to get a handle on the costs as the sensor has to be replaced every 14 days I believe and I didn't get the impression it was cheap, it might cost a grand or 2 a year to wear all the time, but I could be wrong here.

gctest50

Dexcom received approval of the second generation product, the Seven Continuous Glucose Monitoring System in May 2007. This device improved on accuracy as well as extending usage from three to seven days of continuous wear.

It's dogcrap compared to CGM


https://www.dexcom.com/apps

As of today the Dexcom G6 is the only FDA authorized iCGM that can integrate with other compatible medical devices and electronic interfaces, such as automated insulin dosing systems, insulin pumps, blood glucose meters, or other electronic devices used for diabetes management, according to a statement released by the FDA.

Yakuza

silverharp wrote: »

I'm not diabetic but I am curious to check my insulin reaction to different foods, there are a bunch of reviews on Youtube. this one if I remember you wear a sensor for 2 weeks and scan the device over it to update the readings 3 times a day. there is another product that relays it real time.

You can scan yourself as many times as you like (with either a dedicated reader or a relatively modern iPhone / Android), but the sensor only holds 8 hours' worth of data, so to get a full set of readings for a day, you'd need to scan it at least three times daily, 8 hours apart.

silverharp wrote: »

I was trying to get a handle on the costs as the sensor has to be replaced every 14 days I believe and I didn't get the impression it was cheap, it might cost a grand or 2 a year to wear all the time, but I could be wrong here.

They're €60 a pop for two weeks, so a year's worth is around €1600 (taking shipping costs into account (or more than that if one gets knocked off in a taekwondo class:mad:). While not as good as a full CGM, they've become a victim of their success as demand had outstripped production for a while and it's not possible to order more than two at a time. Demand has shot up because the NHS approved them in the UK and since April, you can get it on the LTI for kids up to age 21 (because once you're 21 your diabetes magically disappears, right? :rolleyes:)

My daughter has been using it since last Sept (self-funding until now) and it's great in that you can see trends much more easily and there are far fewer finger pricks needed (they're not eliminated completely). Long term, we may switch to a pump / CGM combo but we're waiting on the outcome of the latest tender to the HSE to see what's available, so it's the Animas and Libre for the moment.