I-Phone/Glucose Meter Combo?

According to a recent news article, Sanofi Aventis is prepping combination hardware/software to turn the iPhone into a blood glucose meter. I own an Iphone, but I have a hard time envisioning it to monitor my glucose levels. In the first place, without lugging around my meter I wouldn't know what to do with myself. In the second place, what would happen if in the middle of a blood check I get a text or call? No worries, I'm sure the masterminds at Apple will figure that one out. I would much rather check into the new blood glucose smart tattoos on the horizon. They sound really promising and not a one of us diabetics would miss those pesky little strips! Speaking of glucose meters, during a glucose check last week using my USB meter, my sugar read 77. I was sure this couldn't be right as I felt fine and if anything, a little high. I dug out my old contour meter and the reading was 177! The USB may not be all it was cracked up to be. I haven't had another inaccurate reading from it since then but I'm on my guard now.

Comparison Readings of Bayer USB & One Touch Ultra Ping Glucose Meters

I recently got a new Bayer Contour USB meter. My insurance wouldn't pay for it so I reluctantly coughed up $70.00 because I really wanted this meter. I am giving my review on the Contour USB in a week or so. 

I decided when I got the meter home that I would do comparison tests side by side with my One Touch Ultra Ping meter and in a few cases, the regular Bayer Contour. I had hoped these comparison tests would let me know how they stack up and give me a sense of the accuracy of both. 

Below are the results and my conclusion of these results will follow:

USB     Bayer Contour        One Touch Ultra Ping

216          213                                    255

USB     Bayer Contour        One Touch Ultra Ping

158          139                                    177

USB      Bayer Contour       One Touch Ultra Ping

92            97                                      100

USB                                       One Touch Ultra Ping

68                                                        73

USB                                       One Touch Ultra Ping  

148                                                      171

USB                                       One Touch Ultra Ping

341 (yikes)                                       401 (I know, yikes!)

USB                                       One Touch Ultra Ping

228                                                    274

USB                                       One Touch Ultra Ping

167                                                     179

Very interesting that in every single test, the One Touch Ultra tested higher than both the USB and regular Contour meter.
It seems that the higher my glucose number, the greater the difference between the two. 
Correct me if I'm wrong in this but it seems that I should go with the meter that tests LOWER rather than the one that consistently gives HIGHER readings. My reasoning behind this is that I can take too much insulin if relying on the One Touch Ultra (which gives the higher readings) and then go into a low. When my numbers were more within range, the meters seemed to be more agreeable. I really like this new meter and am going to give it some more time before I post a review on it. Watch for it!

Review of Wavesense Presto Meter

In previous posts I've complained about the fact that I check my blood sugar often and because of this I always seem to run out of test strips before my insurance will allow a refill. Recently I decided I would have to choose a back up meter that used very inexpensive test strips. I checked out the reviews of the latest Wavesense glucose meters and decided on the Presto. Cost of the meter was $25.97 and that came with 10 test strips. I found that the Presto is very close in accuracy to my One Touch Ultra meter. The lowest strips I found online? 100 @ $39.99 from Drugstore.com. I've heard very good things about the Jazz and Keynote meters which are also offered by AgaMatrix. The cost of Jazz test strips are higher than the Keynote and Presto strips and this is why I decided not to bother with the Jazz.

What I love about this meter besides accuracy:

• For me, a backlight is a must and this one does not disappoint. I love the dark blue backlight!
  
• Averages the past 14, 30, and 90 day glucose levels.
  
• The way it feels in my hand, it is very small. I don't care for the larger, bulky meters and this one is a pleasure to tote around because of its size. I also love the rubber grip strips on each side of the meter.
• No coding- LOVE IT!
• Small blood sample (0.5 ul)
• Alternate site testing capability
  

Any cons?

• It took me a while to understand how to get the backlight to work. I finally discovered that I had not yet enabled the backlight in settings. Wasn't a hassle, just took me around 15 minutes.
• Battery type. I am partial to my One Touch Ultra because it uses 2 AAA batteries. The presto uses 2- 3 volt CR-2032 lithium coin batteries which were included. This is just a preference thing with me.
  
• Lancing device seems cheap but don't most of them these days?

All in all I love this meter! The savings was the main factor in the beginning but if a meter is not accurate, saving money doesn't mean much. With the presto I have found both.