I was SUCH a huge fan of their Freestyle Navigator. It was incredible. As good or (in my opinion) considerably better than the Dexcom G4. Greater range, fabulous accuracy. I would sign on for this if I were abroad. I hope it does well.
Cool
LOL Dave - be like many of us who don't do mg/dl - we get used to converting (and it keeps our brains active in the 1 + 1 area of math). When I first started to work at Diabetes1.org I got complaints by readers (Americans) that they didn't understand my mmol/l - so then I started to convert - and viola - now it's easy to go between the two (Canada was originally mg/dl but due to going metric - we went with the mmol/l is millimoles (oh no - look out for holes!!! )/liter, which is the WORLD standard unit for measuring glucos levels in blood :)
Well, whichever side of North America gets it - I'll be happy. Usually if the FDA approves it - then Canada follows a few years later (or visa versa like the Animas Vibe - Canada for ONCE got it before our cousins south of us - which was a big change - especially since we're the smaller population of North Americans that use pumps).
I had posted about at Diabetes1.org - which has readership that is nonAmerican - so who knows - one of those 7 countries in Europe may report back and tell me how it's working. Plus I'll source out some of my friends across the pond for them to spill the beans on how it works.
I've only ever used the MM CGMS - not impressed with it - bloody expensive as well (hard to find private insurance thru' work places here in Canada that cover it - let alone insulin pumps - but still - there are ways to afford some of these techno gizmos that make our lives better controlled.
Whaaat I want that! But I wonder how big the monitor is? It looks pretty large
I want the swiper and it does not look to big to me and the site looks minimal.
I want one too!
I often post using mg/dl on the internet even though I'm Canadian, because otherwise a lot of American readers (who dominate the online diabetes community) don't know what I'm talking about. I've gotten to the point where I can convert in my head without even really thinking about it.
This will lead to the NHS and other systems saving money, not spending more.Were only this as provably true as we all speculate that it is.
So far, the limited cases where this (general) proposition has been rigorously studied (i.e. spending on prevention reduces treatment costs by more than the prevention spending in the future) has not borne out.
The findings were not that surprising -- the key is the patient, their behavior, motivation, etc., regardless of what sort of improved diagnostics and other preventative steps are taken.
It really isn't that different from the patient that has elevated BG, doc orders a GTT, results are "pre-diabetic". Patient is counseled what to do, based on this early finding, to avoid or delay diabetes.
Then, they just don't do it. They continue on as they were.
This behavior is all-too-familiar. Smokers, drinkers, the obese, etc. -- it's so easy to put off doing something hard and unpleasurable to avoid something that might happen in the future.
Given that CGMs (and similar products, like this one) are enormously more expensive than meters and strips, would the reduction in treatment costs exceed the additional diagnotics costs? Hard to say, but it all depends on us.
Come on stop teasing me
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/14/new-gadget-end-hypo-world-diabetes-day
I still want one, too. I remind myself that my CGM does everything the flash monitor does, and more. I'd really like the Libre to replace almost all of my fingersticks.
I went through an internet intermediary so my computer looked like it was located in the UK. I checked the Abbott UK website to see if I could order one. They say they will only ship to UK addresses.
If I could easily get one, I would do it.
I would love to take it for a test drive.
I'm in the UK and have one coming next week and will post a review.
Please do.
I don't get why people are talking about this as so distinct from a CGM. If it's really an order of magnitude more accurate than existing CGMs, why not put a radio transmitter on it like a CGM and just let it be a CGM, why force people to swipe it if they want a reading? Yes, the sensor would be a little bulkier, but it would also provide continuous data, alarms, etc., and would be a major step toward a functioning closed loop, artificial pancreas system. I feel like I'm missing something in all the press coverage of this.
I don't know the details, but I guess that "near field communication" that the Libre uses is technically easier than broadcasting a radio frequency signal accurately and dependably every five minutes for at least 20 or 30 feet like CGMs do.
Sure, but putting a longer range (albeit a little bulkier) transmitter shouldn't be much of a technical challenge, at least compared to the technical challenge of being as accurate as finger sticks and not even requiring calibration! If Abbott has such revolutionary technology, why not use it for a full-blown CGM? There must be technical or maybe more likely regulatory hurdles.
I'm thinking the regulatory hurdles are a lot more difficult. That plus having to incorporate a battery/charging system with a design trade-off for more physical bulk.
Agreed. But still seems odd to me. It's like if a car company came up with a revolutionary new fuel-efficient engine design, and then decided to market it only in golf carts. If the technological claims are true, Abbott could own the CGM market, be the partner of choice for artificial pancreas trials, etc. Of course, Abbott isn't stupid, so presumably there's more going on here than we're privy to, including the technology perhaps not being as good as claimed.