Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices improve the lives of people with diabetes by minimizing or eliminating the need for painful and inconvenient finger stick blood glucose tests. We’ve written about CGMs from several companies and research organizations, including Nemaura Medical’s sugarBEAT and Senseonics Eversense system. We also wrote about Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre Flash CGM system in September 2017.
Flash forward almost three years, and Abbott recently announced that the FDA cleared the company’s latest generation product for use with adults and children with diabetes ages four and older. The FreeStyle Libre 2 integrated continuous glucose monitoring (iCGM) system runs for up to 14 days and transmits glucose data every minute. If a patient’s glucose level is too high or too low, the system can send real-time alerts to patients or caregivers via Bluetooth. FreeStyle Libre 2 consists of a sensor the patient sticks to the back of the upper arm and a handheld reader. According to the company news release, the sensor is “the size of two stacked quarters.” Using the reader, users or caregivers can also view glucose trend data and the last eight hours of data.
According to Abbott, the FreStyle Libre 2 system is one-third of the cost of other iCGMs. The company says the goal was to set the global price for the system close to that of glucose finger stick systems. At present, Abbot’s FreeStyle Libre 2 is not cleared for use with automated insulin dosing systems, including closed-loop systems. If patients’ readings with the Libre 2 system don’t seem correct due to expectations or current symptoms, the company advises using a finger stick blood glucose test before making any changes in treatment.
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