Who else finds the RED numbers hard to read?

Diabetes Technology Glucose Monitoring
#1

I sent an email to Dexcom Tech Support which I copied below.

Good Morning,
I have had my G4 system for almost 3 months now and totally love nearly every design element. Except for the RED numbers for lows. While I appreciate the urgency of a hypoglycemic event, when my blood sugar is low, my brain is already working less than optimally and the red numbers on the display make it that much more difficult to read. I’m not exactly sure who decided on this particular feature but he/ she obviously has never experienced a low of any kind or he/she would have made the low numbers as easy to read as the normal and high numbers. I would really appreciate it if the display numbers could continue to be white or yellow and the dots beneath the “low” line are red.
JMHO,
Clare

I don't know if anyone else finds the red numbers hard to read or if it is just me. They did get back to me and thanked me for my input. They'll pass along the information to their Marketing Team. I'm pretty sure, there is no way they will change my receiver so I can actually see the numbers when I am low, but maybe they will change them in the future.

#2

I agree - I spoke to tech support when I was on the phone with them and requested my complaint be forwarded to the correct department. I might be able to see the numbers when indoors, but outside in the daylight - FORGET IT! I just figure if I cannot see a number when I check my Dex, I must be low!

#3

I'm so glad I am not the only one Korrie. And I agree when the numbers go red, I have some carbs, but I have the Dex set to alert at 70. If I am 70 I don't want to eat a handful of glucose tabs and overshoot, but if I am 50 it's a whole different ballgame. I guess my point to them was who designed the number color to begin with ? Was it someone looking for a splashy color or was it someone with D ? I am hoping if they hear the comment from enough people they will put more thought into their D product design.

#4

Clare - You raise an even larger issue about user input during the design stage. No, I don't have any problem seeing the red numbers when I'm low, but I don't doubt your report. I do have difficulty seeing the screen in the bright sunlight. It seems it would have been a simple software design fix to allow the user to configure this feature.

As a user, I feel that these kinds of decisions are driven mostly by engineering and/or regulatory concerns. It's as if the user is not even at the table when this decision is made! And to make matters worse, these kinds of things rarely, if ever, get fixed once the package is approved by the regulators. I just wish the manufacturers would fully integrate robust and informed user perspective to make these kind of design decisions.