Is it too much to ask?

Community Share Your Stories
1

This is my first ever blog post on TuDiabetes... let's see how it goes... :-)

So I've been thinking about it, and why hasn't there been some of these pretty basic features added to the devices that we depend on for our well being?

Is it too much to ask the manufacturers like OneTouch, Accu-chek, or Bayer to consider something like a meter that would light up the end of the test strip so that we could easily see where we need to place our blood droplet in the middle of the night when you don't always want to turn on a bright light? Something like this would be a really easy addition to the meter, and I'm sure more people than just myself would find it beneficial. I think it would be cool if the test strip were to glow when inserted into my meter, don't you?


What about making the meters communicate on a standards-based platform? I mean really it would probably end up saving the companies money because they wouldn't have to design their own communications protocols in the first place. Bluetooth has been tried and tested, is fully encryptable, and is extremely cheap and easy to implement. Not only would it increase the quality and range of the signal between a pump and the remote, but it would also allow for multiple devices to communicate across the same channel at the same time. Then to take it one step further since more and more computers are being equipped with built-in bluetooth you could easily transfer your logs wirelessly over something that is already in place.


Or perhaps something silly like a meter with a rechargable battery built into it that also had a docking cradle. You could come home, set the meter in its cradle, and it would sit there all propped up and pretty displaying the time while charging.


Am I wrong to think that these types of conveniences are common-sense? Why haven't they been implemented yet? Anyone else have ideas for things they think would be good to implement in the devices we depend on for our very survival?


Thanks for reading my rant.


-Richard

2

Love your ideas.

3

Yes, Good ideas Rich. What about putting little LED lights on both parts of the picker which turn on when dropped. We went to the theatre last Tuesday and I was about to test my sugar when the picker slid off of my lap and happily went skipping off into the horizon. It broke into 2 pieces and none of us could find it until after the show was over. It may not be a common happening but it does occur on occasion. The People in the 2 seats ahead of us could have stepped on it when they went to get a drink.

4

All good ideas! My Animas rep told me their Dexcom integrated pump will utilize frequencies similar to a house phone. I believe he said it would be somewhere around 3GHz. He said it would allow the user to have the pump and sensor 20 feet away from each other and still read and would be able to read through walls (no direct path needed). This will be a major improvement over any other CGM product available and is also better than the Ping remote. One can hope this will continue. Also wanted to mention one of the Freestyle Lite meters has a light for the strip to test in low light conditons (if only their accuracy was better). Seems like such an easy thing to do to put a light at the strip port- why don’t all the meter companies do this ?

5

Technollogy!
Good grief.