Smallest Glucose Meter Introduced in Europe

A new glucose meter with claims to being the smallest in the world was introduced at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Munich, Germany in September 2004.

Called FreeStyle Mini, the meter requires a blood sample of only 0.3 ml, about 50-90% less than most other glucose systems. This is due to the fact that the system uses coulometry, a patented electrochemiocal measurement technique that effectively measures all the glucose in a blood sample. The average test time with the new meter is seven seconds. The FreeStyle Mini offers many testing sites that enable users to obtain blood samples from areas less painful than fingers. These sites include forearms, upper arms, palms, thighs, and calves. The meter is the product of Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, IL, USA; www.abbott.com).

At the same time, Abbott also introduced the Precision Xceed, an advanced diabetes management system that is the only home monitor to offer the capability of measuring both blood glucose and blood ketone levels in one, simple easy-to-use meter. Elevated ketone levels can indicate an increased risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially life-threatening condition caused by acute insulin deficiency.

"Blood glucose testing is such a critical part of diabetes self-management that it's important to make testing as convenient and pain free as possible for people with diabetes,” noted Jo Butler, registered nurse and nurse consultant, Wandsworth Primary Care Trust (London, UK). "The design and features of FreeStyle Mini provide an active patient population with a meter that's discreet and provides virtually pain-free testing.”




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