Due to my busy summer, I somehow missed the excitement about TRUE2go, the world’s smallest blood glucose meter, which was granted FDA clearance in August. Was there excitement? From the looks of it, there should have been.
As you can see, it’s about the size of an iPod Shuffle…
I haven’t seen one up close and personal yet, but according to the company, it’s about the size of a quarter! “Small enough to fit in a pocket or purse, TRUE2go is designed to twist on top of a vial of test strips, enabling diabetics to more easily test their blood glucose levels while on-the-go.”
MedGadget had some fun with these photos, btw, as did the famous tech blog Gizmondo. Interestingly, the post commenters are non-too-excited. For example:
“Pfft. What the heck happened to those no-stick testers that are supposed to be coming out? Who cares about a smaller one if I still have to bleed myself for it!
To use the tester I’d still need to carry at least one lancet (which I’m not putting in my pocket!) and some test strips (which have to be kept cool and dry, so I couldn’t put them in my pocket); a slightly smaller device seems like a fairly inconsequential advance as far as ‘quality of life’ goes.” – Lodril
Also funny:
“Wilford Brimley apparently already has one, but has already lost it in the netherworld of his moustache …” – Dr.G
Except for one woman:
“TRUE2go Fantastic… an improvement on the Sidekick (which I have bought several of) because it can snap off one vial of strips and on to another. (The Sidekick was permanently attached to a vial of 50 strips.) No different than opening a regular vial of strips, good sized numbers… and quick… almost before you can blot the blood, there are your results. Takes very little room in your purse and doesn’t have to be coded. Medicare pays.” – Julie L.L.
It looks and sounds pretty cool to me.
TRUE2go is currently available nationwide at CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens, and is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance plans. So lots of folks should have them by now, right?
Anybody using it? I’m currently in prep mode for the 2009 DiabetesMine Design Challenge, so I have all these form-factor issues on my mind. What do you all think: is SMALLER nirvana, just nice, or not that important vis-a-vis powerful features in your view?
I wrote about these last August http://ydmv.blogspot.com/2008/08/son-of-sidekick.html but haven’t actually seen one either.
We did use the Sidekick meter that is verison 1.0 of this thing. They were great toss-it in the pocket and run meters. Our insurance company, in logic that only works for insurance companies, wouldn’t pay for them even when they were cheaper tert by test than the strips they did pay for.
Go figure….
I used the sidekicks a lot when I was working, mostly because they were kept on the shelf instead of the locked cabinet, they were considered store brand and I could get an employee discount. Other than that, they’re not what I’d call accurate when compared to the numbers I would get on my one touch meters. A double check for a low would frequently give me -wth?- type results, either much higher or lower than the original result, which caused lots of wasted strips and confusion. I very rarely ever got 2 results from one sidekick that were in the same ballpark, let alone within 20mg/dl of each other. Right now, I’ve got two one touch minis that I bought a year apart and both give results that are within 5mg/dl. I wouldn’t use a sidekick again unless it was an absolute emergency, and even then, only as long as it took to get back to my regular meter.
Based on the performance of their other meters, I wouldn’t use the True brand (or any store brand version of their product) just because it’s smaller or cheaper. What’s the point of cheaper test strips if you’ve got to go through so many to get to a number you trust? Accuracy trumps size any day in my book.
For me, the smaller size isn’t necessarily an improvement. Considering I still have to tote test strips and lancets, which all fit into a pouch. And if it’s so small, are the numbers large enough for most people to read? My mother (in her 60′s) tests my daughter during the day. I would think that the smaller size might be more difficult for some older people to both manipulate and read.
I’m with the comment above, when there is a meter with no test strips or lancets, then I’ll be impressed.
I saw that article on Gizmodo (no ‘n’ btw) and even commented on it then.
My biggest concern is still accuracy. I don’t see the point of something that you can tuck in your pocket if it gives numbers that could be 20% off.
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I have tried this, strangely enough. Just recently I had to buy a meter while out of town because I ran out of strips for my Freestyle Flash. (This meter was significantly cheaper than a box of Freestyle strips.) I was not impressed. The required blood sample is much more than the sample for Freestyle and blood sample size is the major thing I look for in a meter. I also doubt this meter’s accuracy. Twice I bolused according to the To Go meter reading and wound up low. Because I need to save my fingers I cannot stand meters (such as this one, and the loathed One Touch mini) that require a whopping blood sample.
I tested the side kick against the One Touch Ultra with control solution, my blood and the kids. I didn’t see a significantly larger variance than with the One Touch.
The meter was the cap of the strip can and so fairly easy to carry around.
They were great for vacations in Florida the fit in a pocket no sweat.
YDMV
If it doesn’t talk to the minimed pumps (Paradigm 522 etc.), then it’s more hassle than benefit, no?
Got to love it for use on the go. But what about attaching a tiny lancet to the back of it, something you can snap off the back and use. And, since you have to carry around a vial of test strips anyway, how is this an improvement on the Sidekick? With Sidekick you only have to carry a lance. Now if this were the size of a new pump, that would be exiting. Oh where, oh where is that nanopump? Any updates on nanopump, Amy?
I just tried this today after buying it on a wonderful sale. I was hoping to have this small one for in my purse. My numbes were about 20-25 lower than on my Freestyle. I tested once more with my mom’s freestyle, and our Freestyles were within 4 of each other. I really doubt the accuracy of the True2Go. I also had to use 3 strips before getting a reading. I will give it one more shot tomorrow before giving up hope on it. The size is great, but pointless if it is unreliable.
Both my mother and I have had serious doubts about this meter. I used my TrueRead and was at 147. Then I used this one and was at 106. She used her meter and was at 402. Then she used this one and as at 153. How would you ever figure out how much insulin to take?