By Melissa Tennen, HealthAtoZ writer
Children and teens with diabetes now have state-of-the-art technology to monitor their blood glucose levels, and it doesn't even break the skin.
Worn on the arm like a watch, the GlucoWatch G2 Biographer regularly checks blood sugar using fluids secreted through the skin. After approving the technology for adults, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its use in children.
"This (diabetes) is probably the most significant disease in which management is really placed in the hands of patients and their parents. And it's a daunting task," says Francine Kaufman, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist and director of the Comprehensive Childhood Diabetes Center at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. "The GlucoWatch is a really phenomenal thing," she adds.
People with diabetes have to balance the ups and downs of blood glucose levels throughout the day and night. Those levels can be affected by meals and exercise. Since the 1980s, the only available home test for parents to use to monitor their children were frequent finger sticks along with one to four shots of insulin. Diabetes is a difficult disease to control.
Many blood sugar problems occur when the family is asleep and cannot monitor their child's or teen's condition, said H. Peter Chase, M.D., director of the Clinical Division at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He said this device is a helpful way to test.
What is the GlucoWatch?
The GlucoWatch, made by Cygnus, Inc. of Redwood City, Calif., allows people with diabetes to monitor glucose levels every 20 minutes through a small disposable pad worn between the watch and the wrist. Through battery-generated electric pulses, the GlucoWatch attracts glucose molecules through the sweat glands into the pad. The watch offers six painless glucose measurements each hour for 13 hours. An alarm sounds if the glucose reaches dangerous levels, but patients must program the watch.
The FDA based its approval on a Cygnus study that looked at children and teens with diabetes. The research was in a home-simulated environment where the participants could do normal daily activities. The FDA warns that the GlucoWatch measurements must be used in conjunction with finger stick blood tests to ensure accurate results. It is not meant to replace these traditional tests.
The watch requires a two-hour warm-up period followed by a finger test to calibrate the mechanism for the next 13 hours of monitoring. The whole procedure must be repeated each day, and the pads must be replaced with each use -- but not while the device is warming up.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder afflicting more than 10 million people in the United States where more than 150,000 children have its most severe form - type 1 diabetes (also called juvenile diabetes). While no known cure exists, studies show patients who regularly monitor and regulate their blood glucose levels have a lower incidence of complications, such as blindness, serious infection, amputation of limbs, coma and death.
Progressing rapidly, type 1 diabetes appears without warning, usually striking children and young adults. The pancreas ceases to make insulin, a hormone necessary to convert sugar into energy. People with this form of the disease must get one to four daily injections of insulin to stay alive. But insulin is not a cure.
In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas can still make insulin and treatment is usually through oral medication and strict diet. However, even some patients with type 2 may require insulin.
"The FDA will continue to work with companies to bring safe and effective new technologies for monitoring glucose levels to market," said Lester Crawford, FDA deputy commissioner. "These types of products may one day completely eliminate the need for daily finger-prick blood tests."
The GlucoWatch Biographer requires a prescription and is only available by ordering through Cygnus. The GlucoWatch Biographer costs $595. AutoSensors are sold in cartons of 16 and sell for $69.75. Consumers can also buy the GlucoWatch Analyzer, which is software used by health care providers and patients. Designed to download glucose readings from GlucoWatch Biographer to your computer, the program can help analyze trends and patterns in glucose levels.
Here are some factors to consider:
- The biographer should never be worn in the water. Although it is splash resistant, it is not waterproof.
- Hearing the watch's alarm may be difficult if there is too much background noise or if the device is under a pillow.
- When wearing the watch during the warm-up period, you cannot shower, bathe or swim.
- Sweating might cause skipped readings. Excessive sweating may cause the device to stop working completely. The alarm will sound if sweating causes a skipped reading or a shut-off.
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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