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People with diabetes would welcome an alternative to finger-stick testing for monitoring blood glucose levels. Researchers are aware of this need and are using the latest technology to develop a number of new products. Some of them are:
- A system which uses a skin patch that turns colors in response to the level of glucose in the skin. A special meter then reads the color and produces a glucose measurement.
- A meter that is worn like a wristwatch, which measures glucose through the skin and displays the reading to the wearer.
- A monitor that uses a tiny amount of blood, enabling sampling from the upper arm, thigh, calf, or anywhere on the hand.
These products are in various stages of testing and approval. We'll let you know when new ones become available. It is hoped that simplifying testing and taking the pain out of it will encourage more people to test more frequently in order to take better control of their diabetes.
Sources:
- TCPI updates total cholesterol home screening test and noninvasive TD glucose monitoring system programs. Press release, Dec. 6, 2000.
- Cygnus, Inc. Press release, Dec. 7, 2000.
- TheraSense, Inc. Press release, Dec. 13, 2000.
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