Guardian RT Continuous Blood Glucose Meters.
Made by Medtronic MiniMed, Inc. this has just recently (August 2005) been approved for use by the FDA and only for people over the age of 18, which is a pity because what is badly needed is a monitor that can help eradicate the fear parents have of their child having a major hypo while asleep.
It is the first continuous glucose monitoring system to display round the clock readings in real time that you, the user, can see and utilise to give you better control of your blood sugars. Previous systems did not allow you to see the stored the data until you downloaded it later, generally at a doctor's surgery.
With this you can get a much better more direct idea of how exercise, diet or meds cause fluctuations in your BG levels.
The whole system is made up of three parts, the sensor, the transmitter and the monitor.
The sensor, which contains a tiny electrode, is placed just under the skin, generally in the abdomen. They have a special automatic insertion device so patients can do this themselves if they do not want to have to go to their doctor to get it done. I have never tried (or even seen) one of these and I believe it is supposed to be painless - but that is what they told me about finger pricks!
This sensor measures the glucose levels in the interstitial fluid between the bodies cells every five minutes for a period of 3 days, after which the sensor will need to be removed and a new one inserted if so desired. That means you get around 288 glucose readings daily - definitely more times than I would be prepared to prick my finger! The glucose values are converted into an electronic signal that is sent via the transmitter to the monitor.
The transmitter is attached to the sensor and taped to the skin with an adhesive patch, usually just above the sensor. It is small and water resistant so can be worn continually, even in a shower, but not during bathing or swimming.
It uses radio frequencies, (so there are no wires to worry about), to send the glucose values from the sensor to a monitor, which is worn like a pager.
The monitor has a display window that shows you the glucose readings every 5 minutes. It also can be programmed to sound an alarm, or vibrate, if the Bg level goes to high or to low. It needs to be calibrated on a daily basis, which you do by entering in the results of at least two finger prick readings - seems like we will never get away from these.
Unlike the transmitter the monitor is not waterproof but it will still pick up as long as it is within 6 feet of the transmitter (so you can stand it on the loo or basin surround while you shower.)
The monitor will also store up to 21 days worth of data, which you can download to your computer using the appropriate software.
It is not affected by motion, sweat or temperature so can be worn during exercise or if you are into scaling large mountains in Nepal or following in the footsteps of Scott or Amundsen!
You can also enter such facts as your amount of exercise, how much insulin you injected and what your carb intake is, into the monitor and this will appear on the final analysis report.
As of the time of writing, this monitor is available in only 7 US cities and requires a doctors prescription. The reason given for this is that Medtronics are awaiting feedback on various issues from doctors, patients and other professionals in these areas before making it universally available.
The 7 lucky cities are :-
Austin, Texas.
Boston, Massachusetts.
Chicago, Illinois.
Houston, Texas.
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
San Antonio, Texas.
Tampa, Florida.
I do not have any verifiable information of it's cost in the US but have seen prices of $800 for the unit and $35 for the sensor banded about on the odd forum. I doubt if your insurance companies will cover it as yet.
It has also apparently been released in the UK but the price!!!!!!!!!!!
The starter kit was quoted at 2,199.95 and a box of 10 sensors was 565.00. Personally I cannot see the NHS coughing up for this, so it will come out of your back pocket and how many of us have pockets that full?
Apparently the sensors also show up faulty occasionally and at 56.50 per sensor this is one pricey fault.
This said we must hope that Medtronics gets enough positive feedback to make these more widely available. Generally the more that are used the lower the price goes and the more are used ................. until eventually I can afford one. By that time it is possible that they will have one that does not require me to 'stick' something into myself........sigh.
(If you go to Guardian RT you can see what the set-up looks like.)