Type 2 Diabetes: Preventing Complications

Meters with Voice-Output Capability

From Access World: Technology and People with Visual Impairments, (September 2002, Volume 3, Number 5). Reprinted with permission of the American Foundation for the Blind. Available free online at www.afb.org. Funding for this product evaluation was provided by the Teubert Foundation, Huntington, West Virginia.

By Mark Uslan, Caesar Eghtesadi, Angie Spiker, Karla Schnell, and Darren Burton.

Speech output modules were examined for speech quality, speech controls, and convenience. The criteria we used to evaluate the meters were as follows:

 1. Does the meter use a code key or strip for calibration?

 2. Is the lancet depth adjustable to control puncture depth?

 3. How small is the required blood sample?

 4. Are the test strips touchable, and do they use capillary action to draw blood onto the strip?

 5. Does the meter allow for the application of more blood after the test starts?

 6. Does the meter require cleaning after use?

 7. How long must you wait to get a reading after the blood is applied?

 8. Is the meter calibrated for plasma values—the standard used by health care professionals?

 9. Is the meter small enough to fit in a pocket or pocketbook?

 10. How accurate and consistent is the meter?

 11. Can the test data be downloaded to a computer?

 12. Is the meter priced competitively?

The Accu-Chek Voicemate, by Roche Diagnostics, combines a meter and voice output module in one device. Three other meters on the market—the One Touch SureStep, the One Touch Basic, and the One Touch Profile, all made by LifeScan—can be used with voice modules that are purchased separately. The One Touch Basic and the One Touch Profile are not as up to date as are the One Touch SureStep and the Accu-Chek Voicemate. Although we put them in our Product Feature Chart and Ratings Chart, they don't measure up to the Voicemate and SureStep. The real competition is between the Voicemate and SureStep, and it is these two products that we think buyers should focus on.

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