Noninvasive Glucose Monitoring

Her'e news on a recently approved device that may well make glucose monitoring easier. Newly approved for children and adolescents.


The GlucoWatch G2 Biographer, manufactured by Cygnus, Inc., approved for adult use in March 2001, has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for both children and adolescents (ages 7 to 17). The Biographer is a glucose-monitoring device that looks like a watch.

It is completely non-invasive and uses a low electrical current to pull fluids through the skin. It then measures the glucose level in the fluid.

One advantage of the Biographer is that it can identify specific patterns and trends in blood sugars over a long period of time, which will in turn help people manage their disease.

The "watch" can be worn for up to 13 hours and can test glucose levels as often as every ten minutes, for a maximum of 76 readings per wearing. While the FDA’s approval does not eliminate the need for standard fingersticks, the hope is that devices like this one will eventually make them unnecessary.

The Biographer can also show people how their bodies react to specific situations like exercise, stress, meals, sleep, and medications (all of which can affect glucose levels). There is an alarm on the watch that can be set to go off if glucose levels become too high or too low. The device is able to store up to 8,500 readings and there is a software package available that allows these readings to be downloaded onto a personal computer.

That is totally new and attractive. It sounds a ton better than the usual device that requires pricking the finger for a blood sample. All the features are nice.

Just some questions: How does it look like? Where can it be acquired when available? How much does it cost?

According to the new FDA information Glucowatch will not be mass marketed.
The idea is simple. Its calibrated to a glucose prick and then the pacth that adheres t the underside of teh watch reads the amount of glucose in persppriation. This is then converted by an algorythm to a glucose reading.
However teh failure of it is based on teh soapd that use glucose based acids for washing. Purell style hand washing gels also contain a glucose substance.
Even if you use an alcohol prep swab the patchs failure is still non conclusive.

the watch is about 300 dollars. It is not covere dby insurance. and many users found them to be more obstructive as a watch and annoying as the patch dislodges and becomes bunched up.
The battery failure is high so each week a teh battery has to be changed.
It can also lead to false reading.

Sadly the idea has come and gone. Most kids think its cool ,, most like me had a chance to product test and do clinical work with it.. Its nto all ist cracked up to be.

The patch meter is similar and is being clinical studied in Sweden.

*sighs*

just like the hand-held blood pressure readers - they look flashy, seem cool but are either unreliable or just fancy toys..

Now now.. not all new ideas are bad...
that heand hels BP meter had some flaws for sure. Just as the gluco watch does.
Ok but how about the finger monitor. Its does pulse, BP and saturation.
Saturation detects teh amount fo oxygen in teh blood.
Its now available to the public and you simply slide it on your finger like a thimble. Its accurate and rather affordable.

How about the glucose monitor that actually a cap to a bottle of strips? clever and handy and cheap. new meter every time you open a bottle.

How about that Clapper! handy when yu just dont want to get out of bed or cant because it hurts too much to step down.

the talking pedometer. yo can wear it on your shoe or your pants and it lets you know EVERYTHING from how far to how many calories. Affordable.


Breyers double churned sweetend with Splenda ice cream: best invention ever...........

julie