The topic for July's DSMA blog carnival is "diabetes technology", springing from a discussion in which we dissed the downsides of our Borgified selves and collated a wishlist of things we'd like the diabetes device industry to provide us with. Topping the list were more accurate glucometers, more reliable CGMs, sensors, and infusion sets, more accurate (smart?) insulins, and affordable (read: under ten cents each) glucose test strips. Somewhat further in dreamland were noninvasive testing methods (tattoos, retina scanners, "mood" watches, and so on).
The more interesting question is that of disillusioning those who think some of this technology wishlist is already here.
The Other Half's father was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes some years ago and is on oral medications. He confessed that he hasn't been checking his blood glucose levels lately. Now, it's hard to say "you really need to" when Medicaid, Medicare, and the Veteran's Administration are only providing one test a day, and one is not intending to change diet in an effort to moderate those readings. That said, FIL's pharmacy benefit has been sending him supplies like clockwork. He said he was tired of pricking his finger and wanted something like he'd seen advertised where one just slapped a patch on one's forearm and it would tell you -- apparently just like a skin-surface thermometer -- what your blood glucose levels were. At first, what he described sounded like he might have been talking about a CGM. I tried to explain CGMs, but the device he was certain he'd seen sounded like a noninvasive one. It sounded like a cross between a skin-surface thermometer, a nicotine patch, and a CGM receiver.
While it would be really keen if there were an oversized bandaid device that gave us a LCD readout of our blood glucose, that device is not here (yet?).
After some further discussion, I understood FIL was just talking about an alternate-site-capable glucometer, like those the Medicaid/Medicare fulfillment companies often advertise on TV. I'm not sure how well I've explained to FIL that his Precision Xtra can do just that -- that he can switch from pricking his fingertip to pricking his forearm and he's good to go. He says they're advertising something that pricks you and reads out your blood glucose at the same time, and is ultra small. Apparently the MIL's home care nurse has seen the same commercial. I've not -- and the only thing I can think of that comes close is the Accu-Chek Compact Plus, whose lancet device attaches to the meter. But even that almost-all-in-one device separates the lancing step from the sampling step. Is FIL talking about the Accu-Chek Compact Plus, or there a new one-step device available? Or are they both misinterpreting what they've seen?
