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J Nutr Hum Health 2017 Volume 1 Issue 2
Page 28
Notes:
July 24-26, 2017 | Vancouver, Canada
International conference on
DIABETES, NUTRITION, METABOLISM & MEDICARE
allied
academies
S
ince introduction of the first blood glucose meter by
Bayer, about 36 years ago (1981), trillions of glucose
measurements have been conducted by hundreds of millions
people. Yet, no clear answers can be established from
different users and medical experts in regard to glucose
monitoring. Simple and basic questions such as how often,
when, what to do with the numbers, which device, what’s
the accuracy and so on, will produce full scale of answers,
not rarely even contradicting ones. No wonder, though,
that the diabetes community (general practitioners,
diabetologists, endocrinologists) and mainly people with
diabetes are confused and frustrated in this matter, which
lead to many questions, doubts, uncertainty, insufficient
utility in monitoring and reduced adherence in treating the
disease. A question should be asked what’s the source for this
confusion, and more importantly, how can these disputes be
resolved, in order to achieve consistent answers, directions
and guidelines to the users, as well as to the caregivers.
Method:
A deep research scanned the history of the
development of glucose monitoring technologies, techniques
and devices, analyzed the difficulties, potential causes and
reasons for different approaches, variety of ways to read
and understand results, as well as using and comparing the
numbers. Meaning of accuracy assessments and subjective
understandings, methods, clinical and statistical tools were
also analyzed. New devices and trends were studied as well.
Results & Discussion:
The analysis shows a clear view of
an expanded variety of parameters which directly lead
to confusion in all the subject matters. Different types of
measurements lead to different results, varied time of
measurement lead tovariation in readings. Availabilityofmore
data allows better understanding of the readings and how to
use them. Different assessment methods lead to diversity of
accuracy levels. Alternative methodologies and conduction
of clinical trials cause altered results and understanding of
devices’ behavior. Comparing levels of other components
(for example, blood vs. ISF) lead to inconsistent results. Poor
maintenance of the measuring devices and disposables, as
well as human factors has major impact on the results. Lack
of education reduces the confident and trust in the results,
thus the utilization of glucose monitoring decreased.
Conclusions:
Deep understanding of glucose levels’
measurement and monitoring is a crucial parameter in
achieving better utilization and adherence of treatment
diabetes (and pre-diabetes). Such a comprehensive briefing
is an important step to achieve better appreciation of the
complexity of the subject, which may (and should) lead to
improved handling and managing diabetes, as well as treating
and preventing pre-diabetes progression
Biography
Avner Gal serves as CEO of Iridium Consultancy and Technologies. Prior to founding Irid-
ium, he founded Integrity Applications in 2001, which developed non-invasive glucose
monitoring device. Before integrity, he served as CEO of an Israeli measurement com-
pany, which engaged in development of radar and ultra-sonic technologies. From 1999,
he served as the Manager of Engineering Department at Comverse Network Systems.
Since 1996, he managed a profit center in MTI Engineering Ltd., high-tech consulting
company. Prior to entering the private sector, he served for 23 years in various roles in
the Israeli Navy, from which he retired as Naval Commander (1995). He received his BSc
in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel (1982),
MSc in Electrical Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California
(1988) and Master of Business Administration in Marketing Management from the Uni-
versity of Derby’s Israeli Branch (2000).
avnerg@iridium-ltd.comAvner Gal
Iridium Consultancy and Technologies Ltd., Israel
The saga of glucose monitoring: Facts, questions, history and trends