Tuesday 13 May 2014

Diabetes Blog Week: Day 2 - Diabetes Dream Device Wildcard.


Today's topic is actually meant to be "diabetes poetry" - not really my thing. So instead, I'm opting for a wildcard topic: Diabetes Dream Device. 

This continues to be one of the most popular DBlogWeek topics, so let's have another crack at it! Tell us what your fantasy diabetes device would be? Think of your dream blood glucose checker, delivery system for insulin or other meds, magic carb counter or anything else you can think of. The sky is the limit - what would you love to see?

There are countless meters for people with diabetes, all of which have different unique selling points, but, for me, there isn't one that has all the functions I'd like it to have. So, here's my dream device, a glucose meter that......

Looks like a One Touch:
When I was diagnosed, I was given a One Touch Ultra Easy, and I loved it. It looked more like an mp3 player than it did a meter, and I think because of that, very little attention was drawn to it. Then, a couple of years later, I was given a Verio IQ, and this one looked somewhat like an iPod. Again, discrete, very little attention was drawn to it. And it had a light at the test strip port which was great when it came to testing my blood sugar at night. Would definitely like to see a light on a meter! 

Has the bolusing skills of an Accu-Chek:
I currently use the Expert meter by Accu-Chek, and the main reason I haven't switched back to a One Touch is because of the bolus wizard. The meter is programmed with my insulin to carb ratios, my correction factor and certain "health events" (for example, -20% when I exercise or +10% for illness). I check my blood sugar before a meal or snack, input the number of carbs, add a health event if applicable, and press bolus. The meter estimates how much insulin I need, and factors in a correction dose if need be. Awesome!

Hooks up with my laptop like a Bayer:
I personally haven't really used a Bayer meter (was given a Contour USB to try, but went back to my One Touch after a few weeks), but the one thing I loved about it was that I could just plug it into a USB port on my laptop and download the data, quickly and simply. No need for cables or anything else. 

Multi-tasks like a FreeStyle-r:
The Abbott FreeStyle Optium and their recently released Optium Neo not only perform blood glucose checks, but also have the ability to check for ketones. Not that I need to do this often, but to have my glucose meter double up as a ketone meter would be a huge pro!

And is also:
Accurate! Accuracy is so important in blood glucose meters. And, not that I've started on a pump yet, but I am soon, and I'd love for this dream meter to be able to link with the pump, so I can bolus remotely, no matter which company makes it! 

Asking for too much? Maybe. However, this is a dream device.

But all these features are available on individual meters, so I don't think it's unjustified for me, a PWD, to want my meter to integrate all of the above.

What would your dream diabetes device be?

As I mentioned at the beginning, today I've opted for a wildcard topic, a list of links for which can be found here. To read blogs that centre around today's actual blog week topic, click here    

6 comments:

  1. That would be a great meter!

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  2. Oh yes, I second wanting to take all the great features from each brand of meter and combine them into one. Great post!

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    1. Thanks, Karen! And thanks for, once again, organising DBlogWeek! It seems to be going really well! Lots of posts for me to read!

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  3. This is a great topic, and I can't believe I didn't get a chance to play this wildcard at some point this week. Have had fun with the topic in the past over at DiabetesMine, at this post about my dream device based on existing D-tech - http://www.diabetesmine.com/2013/12/device-dream-build-a-pump.html. But yes, there's so many possibilities in imagining what "could" be... hopefully some of this cool futuristic tech will become a reality before long.

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Mike! Great "Build-a-Pump" post! Yes, all these bits of tech we can get our hands on all have great features, but there's not that one item that has the best bits of everything!

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