What do you want from a meter

[Fujifilm]

As there is a lot of posts on meters at the moment I thought it would be a bit of fun to find what you want from your meter. Maybe the cretins who design them may take notice. :lol:

My ideal meter would be one that has built in testing no strips you just prick your finger with the built in finger pricker. (which should be changeable) it will be a nice pocket size and similiar to the new touch phones and ipods with easy menus that have information and graphs that are easy to understand.

I also want the ability to record what medication I take and an alarm to warn me when its due and for it to repeat until I have taken it or cancelled the alarm. The ability to record what I have taken. Not just insulin but all medication.

Most important I want to be able to add notes, for example if I test and my BG is high because I have just eaten a bag of jelly baby's I can make a note to say stuffed face with jelly babys. So when I print out the results there is a reminder why the BG was high that day. Or alternativley had hypo due to excessive excercise trying to work off jelly baby's.

I also want the ability to record health results, a menu so you can record carbs etc, but not only that I want it to be intelligent and already have the information in, so say you type in P it will give a list, you select say potato and it already has carb, protein etc. Updates for the software and information should be downloadable from the interweb.

And I want the front screen when its turned on to say I am diabetic my details and in case of emergency plug me into USB so of course it needs to have a USB connection.

The Ultrasmart has some of these features, but the screen is old technology, not that good to see especially if your eyes are not so clever, you are limited to the information you can put in, but the closest there is to what I want.

When you look at new technologies there is no reason why we can’t have it. The meter company’s make millions so its not a case of not having money to develop.

As for sticks I am sure there must be a way to not have them. Now we know that’s where they make the £s but supposing there was a credit system where your meter gave so many tests, if you wanted more you plugged into internet and downloaded more tests, if you pay for them that’s what you do, if you get them on prescription you put in some code (national insurance?). This would allow NHS to stop the racketeering by chemists, monitor how many tests people are doing and more important stop peeps flogging their strips on ebay.

I know this is all ideal world stuff but I am interested in what you think and what your ideal meter would do. :mrgreen:

 

[Ardbeg]

I like your style Fujifilm.

I'd want all of the above too; especially being able to take bloods without the use of strips.

Nokia's mobile handset sales have taken a real hammering in recent years thanks to both Blackberry's and iPods. I have it on very good authority that the Nokia N900 will be THE mobile handset of 2010. Now if we could persuade them to build in a device with your spec to their handset, or at least a small auxillary device that can be plugged in we would be laughing.

I've already stopped wearing a watch as I carry my mobile everywhere and it tells me the time, so having a built in meter too makes perfect sense to me.

In case you are interested, here is that the N900 looks like:

maemo.nokia.com/n900/

 

[Fujifilm]

That looks very sexy, I think I NEED one :lol:

 

[Clarky]

The Accu-chek compact has a test strip barrel that loads into the meter. You just turn on and a meter strip hangs out the bottom. Then you use the finger pricker attached and Bob's ya Mums bruv But it doesn't have all the other cool stuff you mentioned and it's quite bulky. The technology's out there fro all the other cool stuff, it must be, but since most of us in the Uk get these for gratis on the NHS I guess they don't need to do too much to them, since they get paid for them anyway, if we like em or not! lol

I'd be happy with my compact if it was more compact :lol: But as you say, to be able to add stuff for carb imput would be great.

 

[Synonym]

Fujifilm,

It would be brilliant to have all that info at your fingertips and would make for great control.

To have testing by another means than the current strips would also stop people with diabetes being held to ransom because of their condition. The problem is that inventors and suppliers of such things want lots of money! :roll:

 

[JasonHayes]

I agree the Accu-Chek is almost what you are asking for, test strips in side the machine, finger picker attached. But it is a biger machine. The menu's are limited. Does light up, so good using a night with limited light.

 

[Fujifilm]

I have looked at the accu-check but its still old technology, bulky and not what I want :lol:

When I take my meter out of my pocket I want to press something, it takes my blood gives me a reading. No messing about with sticking things in my finger, trying to get blood out of the **** thing.

Out my poccket, click, reading, back in my pocket and nobodys any the wiser what I have done, as far as they know I have looked at my mobile.

Even looking at todays meters, no thought went into the design or use, or who has to use them.

Take for an example the ultraeasy, nice design ideal for slipping in the pocket, easy to read. On the surface well thought out for a meter thats discreet and easy to carry.

But what the bozo who designed it did not take into account is the pot of sticks you have to carry and the finger pricker. Suddenly its not a discreet easy to carry meter.

Now I have stripped one of these down and there was no reason why with a little thought it could have not incorporated a finger pricker and a space to store the sticks. Because inside its hollow. Its not rocket science.

Trouble is the designers are not diabetic, they don't have to think about carrying a meter, sticks, finger pricker, glucotabs and the rest of the junk your average diabetic carry's. they have never been hypo and had to get a fiddly stick out of a tiny plastic pot. Or prick there fingers and try to get that bit of blood out.

Power to the people :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Dave37]

More accurate results, + or - 20% is not acceptable in the 21st century. How are we going to get BG correct if results can be 20% out.

 

[noblehead]

Hi Dave,

I didn't know they can be 20% out, where did you get this info? I have heard that they can be up to 10% out, but not the figure you quote.

Regards

Nigel

 

[cugila]

The accuracy of meters do vary but always within the accepted EC tolerances. No, it isn't perfect.

What you would need for 100% accuracy is lab type equipment. As these devices are small and portable it is unrealistic to expect them to be that accurate, They are a guide only. If they were like lab test equipment, which also is not 100% accurate, they would probably be the size of a suitcase and cost a fortune.

My meter and all the others give good readings which help to decide if my Bg is up or down. If I feel cr*p and I test with my meter it confirms how I feel - low. If I feel happy and bouncy, the test usually confirms it is high. That's all I need to know, not that the reading might be out a point or so. By using the same meter ALL the time any discrepancies balance out - so they are as good as they need to be.

 

[noblehead]

Thanks Ken,

I always knew that meter's were not 100% accurate, but there never seems to be info on accuracy in the literature that comes with each meter. Is there no independent up-to-date data available, where you can find out the manufacture, model and accuracy of each meter?

I would have thought that somewhere on the worldwide web, some person, or organisation with a vested interest in diabetes would have compiled together such data. Meters come and go, but it would be interesting to know which manufacture has the best reputation on meter accuracy.

Regards

Nigel

 

[Fujifilm]

If I feel cr*p and I test with my meter it confirms how I feel - low. If I feel happy and bouncy, the test usually confirms it is high.

So when you are low you feel cr*p , and when you are high, you are happy and bouncing around the house like Tigger. So the question has to be what you like when you are normal ? :lol: :lol: :lol:
.

 

[cugila]

Me.....Normal.....what's that....... :lol: :wink:

Fuji and me !!! I'm the one with the Flame Thrower !

 

[Fujifilm]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Dave37]

Hi Dave,

I didn't know they can be 20% out, where did you get this info? I have heard that they can be up to 10% out, but not the figure you quote.

Regards

Nigel

Current Onetouch Ultra Easy hand book states meter is considered accurate when results are + or - 20% of lab results. That is the international standard that companies have to conform to.
Cugila,
I'm not saying I want meters to be 100% accurate but I want tight control which is not possible when results can be 20% out. In this day and age it must be possible to produce meters to a higher standard than this without much of an increase in costs.

 

[cugila]

Cugila,
I'm not saying I want meters to be 100% accurate but I want tight control which is not possible when results can be 20% out. In this day and age it must be possible to produce meters to a higher standard than this without much of an increase in costs.

Dave.
You say you can't get tight control ? Why not ? Many of us achieve very tight control using the self same meters which you reckon aren't accurate enough ? I find them plenty accurate enough for my purposes.

As for your comment that it must be possible to produce more accurate meters at very little cost......not according to one manufacturer I spoke to a little while ago when I was discussing another testing query I had. They said yes, it is possible to be more accurate but always at a significant cost. When asked what sort of cost, the guestimate was about £300 per meter...... :shock: I think I'll stick with what I have now.

 

[Dave37]

If I feel cr*p and I test with my meter it confirms how I feel - low. If I feel happy and bouncy, the test usually confirms it is high. That's all I need to know, not that the reading might be out a point or so. By using the same meter ALL the time any discrepancies balance out - so they are as good as they need to be.

In your later post you claim to be able to get very tight control, how is that possible if you aren't bothered that you BG is out by a point or so, that's not what I think of as tight control. I wish I had your awareness of what my BGs are doing, not all of us do.
I'm a type 1 on a pump and have tried everything to get good control. If I knew why my control wasn't good I could hopefully do something about it. The point I was trying to make was, if I'm doing a correction dose and my BG is out by 20% that increases my risk of a hypo. My number one problem at the moment is I'm having to many hypos and may be a more accurate meter would help. I'm not blaming everthing on the meter but every little helps.

 

[cugila]

In your later post you claim to be able to get very tight control, how is that possible if you aren't bothered that you BG is out by a point or so, that's not what I think of as tight control.
Dave. I don't claim anything ,I know because of my readings, how I feel, and what my HbA1c tells me. I don't assume that my Bg is out by a point or so....it may be out by a tenth of a point or so, that's all. I think anybody, as I have, who has 98% on target blood sugars must be getting good control. Sadly because of an unrelated condition that control has been decimated over the last two months.So, I am now uncontrolled ! What I do know is that once my treatment stops I WILL go back to that 98% - believe me.

I wish I had your awareness of what my BGs are doing, not all of us do.
Not quite sure what you are getting at there Dave, I have no idea what YOUR Bg levels are. :?

I'm a type 1 on a pump and have tried everything to get good control. If I knew why my control wasn't good I could hopefully do something about it. The point I was trying to make was, if I'm doing a correction dose and my BG is out by 20% that increases my risk of a hypo.
That 20% figure is a maximum ! , I doubt very much that ANY meter is out by that much, they are just covering their backs in case anybody gets an odd reading. My meter the Lifescan UltraSmart I took with me to the Hospital when I had my HbA1c done. The result from my meter which I used at the same time to test the accuracy was only 0.2mmol/l different.....?? Nothing like the 20%+- reading you seem to think is what all readings are ??

My number one problem at the moment is I'm having to many hypos and may be a more accurate meter would help. I'm not blaming everything on the meter but every little helps.

I have the same problem too. However I don't rely on the meter to tell me if I am hypo or not. I rely on my hypo awareness to tell me what is happening. The meter is the tool I use to confirm what I really already knew. I am having a hypo ! Same if my readings are high, I know how I feel, so when I test it again confirms that I was right.

It would as you say be nice to have more accuracy, but as a pump user surely you have had plenty of advice from your DSN/Endo about getting the amounts correct. Could this really be the cause of your problems ? Not a misreading meter. I notice you haven't asked for any advice in our own Insulin Pump forum, we have some VERY experienced members there who may be able to assist you in getting the numbers and dosage correct. Worth a shot ?

 

[Dave37]

In your later post you claim to be able to get very tight control, how is that possible if you aren't bothered that you BG is out by a point or so, that's not what I think of as tight control.
Dave. I don't claim anything ,I know because of my readings, how I feel, and what my HbA1c tells me. I don't assume that my Bg is out by a point or so....it may be out by a tenth of a point or so, that's all. I think anybody, as I have, who has 98% on target blood sugars must be getting good control. Sadly because of an unrelated condition that control has been decimated over the last two months.So, I am now uncontrolled ! What I do know is that once my treatment stops I WILL go back to that 98% - believe me.
You're lucky to have such good control but you seem to think my poor control must be my fault

I wish I had your awareness of what my BGs are doing, not all of us do.
Not quite sure what you are getting at there Dave, I have no idea what YOUR Bg levels are. :?
I mean my Hypo awareness is poor and I don't always know when my BG is high, unlike you.

I'm a type 1 on a pump and have tried everything to get good control. If I knew why my control wasn't good I could hopefully do something about it. The point I was trying to make was, if I'm doing a correction dose and my BG is out by 20% that increases my risk of a hypo.
That 20% figure is a maximum ! , I doubt very much that ANY meter is out by that much, they are just covering their backs in case anybody gets an odd reading. My meter the Lifescan UltraSmart I took with me to the Hospital when I had my HbA1c done. The result from my meter which I used at the same time to test the accuracy was only 0.2mmol/l different.....?? Nothing like the 20%+- reading you seem to think is what all readings are ??

I didn't say all meters are out by 20%, I said that was the international standards they have to meet. I agree Lifescan are one of the more accurate manufactures, although Richard Bernstein recomends Accu-check which is why use them, I trust him. I'm not sure HbA1c can be compared to your meters results as they are a 3 month average where as your meter is giving you a current result.

My number one problem at the moment is I'm having to many hypos and may be a more accurate meter would help. I'm not blaming everything on the meter but every little helps.

I have the same problem too. However I don't rely on the meter to tell me if I am hypo or not. I rely on my hypo awareness to tell me what is happening. The meter is the tool I use to confirm what I really already knew. I am having a hypo ! Same if my readings are high, I know how I feel, so when I test it again confirms that I was right.


It would as you say be nice to have more accuracy, but as a pump user surely you have had plenty of advice from your DSN/Endo about getting the amounts correct. Could this really be the cause of your problems ? Not a misreading meter. I notice you haven't asked for any advice in our own Insulin Pump forum, we have some VERY experienced members there who may be able to assist you in getting the numbers and dosage correct. Worth a shot ?

My BGs are starting to improve but only in the last month or so since I changed my meter from the Exceed to the Aviva Nano. I've also had problems in the past with other meters.
I did say I wasn't blaming everything on the meter, just that better accuracy may help.I think we've got a little off topic here, the point of the post was what would you like to see from a meter all I said was accuracy. There are plenty of professionals who also want more accurate meters, Bernstein being one of them. Cost shouldn't come into it as they are producing pumps costing £3000 and selling plenty of them and I assume making profit on those sales.

 

[cugila]

Dave .
I fail to see how a change of meter can improve your Bg numbers ? That seems illogical. I also know what the OP was, however as with everything on this forum, questions are posed and the topic evolves. This area is called Diabetes Discussions. Anybody can throw their 'three pennorth' in.

As for your own control, I have not said it's your fault at all. I have offered you some advice that the Insulin Pump Forum members may be able to assist you. Get those numbers under control. I thought that was a good idea ? So where have I said anything about the lack of control being your fault ?
It might just be like many Diabetic's on here you have been given poor advice by HCP's !

If your hypo awareness is poor as you say, there is a way of getting it back, which I could post for you.

As for the HbA1c result and my meter reading. My Endocrinologist thinks that it is a good way to check meter accuracy, he's the expert and I trust him. As for Mr Bernstein. Who is he ?

We are not off topic, it is all about meter readings, accuracy and anything else in between. We don't restrict ourselves to one simple discussion on this forum. We believe in 'kicking' things around a bit and get all the facts out in the open. Debate/Discussion. That's how we all learn.

As for a more accurate meter.....
Would you really be prepared to pay £300 for a portable meter ?? There's no way I would.
Cost comes into everything. They are not going to give the things away. The take up of something like that would be minimal at that cost. It will be some years before anything more accurate comes along. So, like I said, I'll stick with my inaccurate meter....suits me. I have tight control.