• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Glucose meter

N

Nadia_ger

Newbie
Messages
1
Hi Everyone,

My name is Nadia and I’m a biomedical engineering student.
I am part of a group assignment to develop a prospective product design. We need to design an innovative glucose meter. I would like feedback regarding what your ideal glucose meter would be like, aside from its essential accuracy. What design features would you like regarding size, shape, color, memory, simplicity, add-ons and any other ideas?
We have two weeks to come up with an idea and prepare an outline for our assignment. All suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your help!
 
Nadia_ger said:
Hi Everyone,

My name is Nadia and I’m a biomedical engineering student.
I am part of a group assignment to develop a prospective product design. We need to design an innovative glucose meter. I would like feedback regarding what your ideal glucose meter would be like, aside from its essential accuracy. What design features would you like regarding size, shape, color, memory, simplicity, add-ons and any other ideas?
We have two weeks to come up with an idea and prepare an outline for our assignment. All suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your help!
Click to expand...
We need a better way of checking calibration. The current test solutions have such a wide range of possible values that they are really only useful for detecting faulty meters, but not ones that may be reading slightly high or low, if the test sample had a titrated value then this might help.
 
The Accucheck Mobile is a very good BG meter.
50 tests on a cartridges so you don't have to Handel test strips. Attached finger pricker is great.
It has issues like hard to line up the test area with the blood sample but it is the best design in my opinion.
 
From my point of view it should be small and unobtrusive so that it's easy to carry in a pocket, with finger-pricker and strips. My favourite was similar to a biro so easily fitted in a jacket pocket with an insulin pen. No case.

It also has to be easy and unobtrusive to use.

No reason why it needs a display if the software and display are off-board on an Android smartphone and data passed with bluetooth. Then you can have charts and analysis on a device that's been designed for it.

Rechargeable to save messing with batteries.

Don't forget the finger-pricking device; this takes up quite a lot of space - could the components could be integrated and designed to fit in a pocket like a pen or phone.

The finger-prick devices I've used are all pretty low-grade - you might get some easy wins here.

One-handed use as far as possible.

Lastly, if you can find a way of integrating the test strips, that would be nice, but a carton of fifty is quite compact so not so important. Perhaps a container that fits neatly with the meter, rather than another piece to carry around.

I hope that's innovative enough - it would be good to hear how you get on.
 
Hi @Nadia_ger. Personally I would like not to have to prick myself to get blood. I believe there is a meter, the Freestyle Libre, which monitors blood glucose and other things without blood, but I think it is quite dear, so affordability should be a requirement too.
I'm not very good with computer stuff, being an older person, so it would be good to have an easy way to download the results data onto a pc. I use a Accu Chek mobile now, but when I connected it to my pc I got the message that additional data storage space was needed to download. I assume this means I need to insert a disc or a memory stick, but I don't know. And I believe you have to 'format' discs which I don't know how to do.
Despite being quite computer illiterate I worked out how to download photos from my digital camera onto my pc, just connect and click on the download button. A meter should be as easy as that.
 
jrussell88 said:
From my point of view it should be small and unobtrusive so that it's easy to carry in a pocket, with finger-pricker and strips. My favourite was similar to a biro so easily fitted in a jacket pocket with an insulin pen. No case.

It also has to be easy and unobtrusive to use.

No reason why it needs a display if the software and display are off-board on an Android smartphone and data passed with bluetooth. Then you can have charts and analysis on a device that's been designed for it.

Rechargeable to save messing with batteries.

Don't forget the finger-pricking device; this takes up quite a lot of space - could the components could be integrated and designed to fit in a pocket like a pen or phone.

The finger-prick devices I've used are all pretty low-grade - you might get some easy wins here.

One-handed use as far as possible.

Lastly, if you can find a way of integrating the test strips, that would be nice, but a carton of fifty is quite compact so not so important. Perhaps a container that fits neatly with the meter, rather than another piece to carry around.

I hope that's innovative enough - it would be good to hear how you get on.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the Accucheck Mobile. Fits in a shirt pocket, 50 test cartridge, pricker attached with 5 lancet cartridge. You can operate with one hand and it syncs with smart phones. Personally I prefer to manually imput into my phone app Diabetes M or MySugar. No matter what meter you use, you will get false tests.
 
Size must be small like a pen so it can clip into our pocket. It has audio sound to instruct user to load in test strip n read out the BG level loud. It has a micro USB port to upload to PC n with blue tooth to interact with handphone. The utmost important is with accuracy less than 5% error. If possible it can detect our BG without need to finger prick so no pain for user n user can use it continue detect BG level.
 
Yea I have a good idea can't believe no one else has said we need a constant meter Coz my crystal ball keeps on playing up lol I use on average 8 - 10 tests a day I work with machinery and drive to work with my meals and bed time have 2 kids to help busy me up easy need that many tests why mess around making something we all have into a different shape give us something that is a step up and not a step sideways cheers I'm 20 years type 1
 
Colsey_ said:
Yea I have a good idea can't believe no one else has said we need a constant meter Coz my crystal ball keeps on playing up lol I use on average 8 - 10 tests a day
Click to expand...
You realize that they already exist right?
Dexcom G4/G5, Freestyle Libre (although it's technically not "continuous"), Medtronic Minimed system, etc
 
Yea I know that jst a cgm supllied bye nhs my diabetes nurse said the cost of my test strips would add up to near the same as a cgm test patches an my control would be near perfect without a doubt it don't make sense
 
Colsey_ said:
Yea I know that jst a cgm supllied bye nhs my diabetes nurse said the cost of my test strips would add up to near the same as a cgm test patches an my control would be near perfect without a doubt it don't make sense
Click to expand...
Well a CGM isn't a replacement for test strips so it wouldn't save costs in that sense. It's unrealistic to expect the NHS to somehow fund technology that costs in excess of 5000gbp/year for every type 1 (and some type 2) diabetic.
 
Well mr brilliant what's the cgm stand forsure it don't mean stick this cgm patch on for 24 hours a day an stab your fingers all day as well you mup obviously check that it's running ok and this ain't the place to show off that you can use a calculator prat I think the money they would save from bad suger level complications would cover the oh so expensive 500000000000 gpprds /:) cgms maybe you can write really neat and add up numbers try solving problems not remedying them mup
 
Colsey_ said:
Well mr brilliant what's the cgm stand forsure it don't mean stick this cgm patch on for 24 hours a day an stab your fingers all day as well you mup obviously check that it's running ok and this ain't the place to show off that you can use a calculator prat I think the money they would save from bad suger level complications would cover the oh so expensive 500000000000 gpprds /:) cgms maybe you can write really neat and add up numbers try solving problems not remedying them mup
Click to expand...
I can form complete sentences, and I have a basic understanding of how punctuation works, but thank you for complimenting my "Fancy book lerninz"

Unfortunately, my continuous glucose monitor isn't funded with rainbows and sunshine. I have to pay for it partially out of pocket which is why I know how much it costs. I also still need to use test strips frequently throughout the day so I understand these things firsthand.

Have a nice day.
 
Ok rich boy your cgm is why call it a cgm if it don't do cgm! the cgm I mean would do its job near properly that's all I'm asking for with a serious condition like diabetes I don't mean give me something that don't work or might work phh don't have a hypo about it
 
Colsey_ said:
Ok rich boy your cgm is why call it a cgm if it don't do cgm! the cgm I mean would do its job near properly that's all I'm asking for with a serious condition like diabetes I don't mean give me something that don't work or might work phh don't have a hypo about it
Click to expand...
That's a great point (the part about making the cgm more functional).

It would be great to see the wearable technology more "livable." Obviously, we all wish our glucometers were more accurate, but it would be cool to see that was less invasive.

My Dexcom transmitter, for example, is terribly annoying to sleep with at night. It would be cool to see the transmitter/sensor designed to be flatter and more pliable to move with my skin.

Along the same lines, it would be cool to see a standard glucometer with similar capabilities. I suppose they do have compact meters, but they're still not particularly easy to carry around in your pocket.

One thought would be to somehow integrate a reusable insulin pen with a glucometer. In some ways, it could be similar to a pump, but without being physically tethered to one another.
 
That's a bloody good idea about the pen thing, the problem I think is if we entertain the cgm if they don't work proper and uncomfortable then we shouldent use them or let them think there ok it's like if you were goin on a journey an you knew the car would proberly break down I personally would scrap the car and stick to a something reliable like a bike or walk an get some money back on the car, for healthy food an drinks on the way, hope fully some bright spark will work out Betta testing I hate the guessing game would love to look and see what's goin on any time of the day that's one aspect of bg control I could work with. Dr Bernstein says with good control you throw away all of diabetes complications
 
Hi Nadia
I have few Ideas. 1. A simple glucometer which can be worn like a smart watch.
2. Laser accuracy.
3. Be able to send warning messages in the event of hypo or hyper glycemia.
 
How about real wearable tech - a pair of underpants/knickers that detect glucose levels from the skin and transmit them. No patches etc. You didn't ask for doable scientifically. Needs to also have a option to link directly to a pump for 2 way feed back to produce a simple artificial pancreas.
 
Back
Top