spiritfree
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Has anyone got the accu-chek aviva expert meter. I have just seen it on their site and I am wondering what it's like.
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Accu-Chek Aviva Expert
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Yes details here
www.accu-chek.co.uk/gb/products/metersystems/avivaexpert
I believe that it is essentially the same meter that you get as the handset/remote with the accu-check combo pump but without the pump related features, that is the bluetooth connection to the pump and the pump functionality.
So what do you get that is extra to a normal Accu-Chek meters? Well you get the software on the meter that is used in the pump handset for calculating your required bolus dose for a given weight of carbs at a given time of day based on the basal ratios that you have stored on the meter and also any correction dose that your current BG reading suggests you need.
You also get some extra functions for analysing your results on the meter itself; a colour screen (!); and access to use the Accu-Chek SmartPix facility to load your data onto your PC for further analysis and to get printed charts.
So those are the benefits, so what are the cons? Well I believe they want to charge quite a bit of money for this, about ?100. So that is ten times the cost of a standard meter and at that price you are unlikely to get one for free from your medical team (although I have a recollection of someone on this forum saying they have been given one). It seems a lot of money just for some extra software and a colour screen. I like the handset I got with my pump but without the pump element I do not think there is enough benefit from this to justify the extra expenditure. Plus if the pump handset is anything to go by the batteries, three AAA Lithium ones, will need changing about once every three months whereas all the other meters I have had have had a much longer battery life than that.
If I remember correctly you have the Combo pump and have now got the handset so essentially you already have this meter. 😎 I was surprised and a little disappointed to read that you had to buy this for yourself.
www.accu-chek.co.uk/gb/products/metersystems/avivaexpert
I believe that it is essentially the same meter that you get as the handset/remote with the accu-check combo pump but without the pump related features, that is the bluetooth connection to the pump and the pump functionality.
So what do you get that is extra to a normal Accu-Chek meters? Well you get the software on the meter that is used in the pump handset for calculating your required bolus dose for a given weight of carbs at a given time of day based on the basal ratios that you have stored on the meter and also any correction dose that your current BG reading suggests you need.
You also get some extra functions for analysing your results on the meter itself; a colour screen (!); and access to use the Accu-Chek SmartPix facility to load your data onto your PC for further analysis and to get printed charts.
So those are the benefits, so what are the cons? Well I believe they want to charge quite a bit of money for this, about ?100. So that is ten times the cost of a standard meter and at that price you are unlikely to get one for free from your medical team (although I have a recollection of someone on this forum saying they have been given one). It seems a lot of money just for some extra software and a colour screen. I like the handset I got with my pump but without the pump element I do not think there is enough benefit from this to justify the extra expenditure. Plus if the pump handset is anything to go by the batteries, three AAA Lithium ones, will need changing about once every three months whereas all the other meters I have had have had a much longer battery life than that.
If I remember correctly you have the Combo pump and have now got the handset so essentially you already have this meter. 😎 I was surprised and a little disappointed to read that you had to buy this for yourself.
Hi,
I have been using the Aviva Expert for about a week now. I got it free at my clinic, because I agreed to 'trial' it. In real terms this seems to be receiving an email to comment on what you think etc a couple of months later - and they get my valuable contact details etc. It came with one lot of 50 strips and then they 'advise' you to change your prescription with your doctor - which is of course where they make the money, in the consumerables. The rep spent 45 minutes showing how to use it and putting the settings in etc. I'm very pleased with it and the rep said it is more like the brain bit of a pump (just as Rossineri explained) and they then widened it out to MDI. I am on MDI and don't really fancy a pump at the moment but this feels like it gives me some of the advantages of the pump. I will definitely be using this from now on and would recommend it especially for the reporting, graphs on trends/targets etc and the fact that I can download everything. You have to put all your info into it and only use one metre to get the most out of it though but you can add data retrospectively. I'm very happy with it and would recommend, I am sure the manufacturers are anxious for other punters - you could try ringing them or tell the clinic you are happy to be involved in trials etc
I have been using the Aviva Expert for about a week now. I got it free at my clinic, because I agreed to 'trial' it. In real terms this seems to be receiving an email to comment on what you think etc a couple of months later - and they get my valuable contact details etc. It came with one lot of 50 strips and then they 'advise' you to change your prescription with your doctor - which is of course where they make the money, in the consumerables. The rep spent 45 minutes showing how to use it and putting the settings in etc. I'm very pleased with it and the rep said it is more like the brain bit of a pump (just as Rossineri explained) and they then widened it out to MDI. I am on MDI and don't really fancy a pump at the moment but this feels like it gives me some of the advantages of the pump. I will definitely be using this from now on and would recommend it especially for the reporting, graphs on trends/targets etc and the fact that I can download everything. You have to put all your info into it and only use one metre to get the most out of it though but you can add data retrospectively. I'm very happy with it and would recommend, I am sure the manufacturers are anxious for other punters - you could try ringing them or tell the clinic you are happy to be involved in trials etc
Marc
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- Type 1
The think I most wish Accu-Chek would do is a bring out a meter to rival the Optium Xceed that can do Ketone checks. The obvious one is the Aviva range as it doesn't have a fixed cartridge of strips. I love the Soft Touch and Compass software but would like the Ketone blood test function.
Marc
Marc
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Any/many others here using the Accu-chek Expert?
I was given one by my DSN towards the end of December and so far (after spending some time to get the settings right) it's making a pretty good effort at suggesting boluses. The thing which I can't seem to get to work as I'd expect is the 'Active Insulin' reading.
According to the blurb 'The meter displays the calculated amount of Active Insulin' however, when I was running post-meal testing over the weekend at 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes the 'Active Insulin' read '0u' throughout for 2 meals and at '0.1u' for another (despite having had a confirmed bolus logged on the system).
Has anyone else had this? Is there some sort of error in settig up that might cause this?
Thanks!
M
I was given one by my DSN towards the end of December and so far (after spending some time to get the settings right) it's making a pretty good effort at suggesting boluses. The thing which I can't seem to get to work as I'd expect is the 'Active Insulin' reading.
According to the blurb 'The meter displays the calculated amount of Active Insulin' however, when I was running post-meal testing over the weekend at 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes the 'Active Insulin' read '0u' throughout for 2 meals and at '0.1u' for another (despite having had a confirmed bolus logged on the system).
Has anyone else had this? Is there some sort of error in settig up that might cause this?
Thanks!
M
Phil65
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- Type 1
I managed to get a free Accu-chek Expert, it is excellent with lots of info, graphs,pie charts etc, it does calculate your bolus/carb ratio but to be honest not really needed. Mine does tell me how much active insulin I have 'on board' though which can be useful. A good meter! 🙂
sofaraway
Senior Member
I have one but I am nto using it at the moment. Initially it was pretty good. But I then found out that it doesn't seem to take into account active insulin from earlier carb boluses when calculating what dose it suggests. So sounds like you have a similar problem with it Mike. I tried testign and giving a bolus then checking 15 minutes later and I was 13 and it wanted me to correct that using my normal correction ratio, which I didn't do as i knew I had just eaten and had plenty of active insulin.
I am very bad at writing down my results or downlaoding them so i liked having the graphs on the meter. I liked the % in target bit aswell. It showed me that although My a1c is good, I only had about 30% of readings within range so the highs and lows were cancelling each other out.
I am very bad at writing down my results or downlaoding them so i liked having the graphs on the meter. I liked the % in target bit aswell. It showed me that although My a1c is good, I only had about 30% of readings within range so the highs and lows were cancelling each other out.
Ellie Jones
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- Type 1
Please tell me that this is not the same meter as what comes with Spirit Combo?
If it's the same meter it should have the facility of blue tooth to connect to the pump, which will include the basal rate setting etc.. As with the Combo the handset acts as a remote control!
If it's the same meter I will not be happy at all, as at present I'm being messed about by Roch concerning the handset for my Combo pump delivered just before Christmas without the handset, which I've been told that I've got to pay ?120 for it😱
Which I'm far from happy with, as I've already got the Compass software (which sounds as though this is what the expert is running) which when I got it I had to buy a palm pda to run it on!
If it's the same meter it should have the facility of blue tooth to connect to the pump, which will include the basal rate setting etc.. As with the Combo the handset acts as a remote control!
If it's the same meter I will not be happy at all, as at present I'm being messed about by Roch concerning the handset for my Combo pump delivered just before Christmas without the handset, which I've been told that I've got to pay ?120 for it😱
Which I'm far from happy with, as I've already got the Compass software (which sounds as though this is what the expert is running) which when I got it I had to buy a palm pda to run it on!
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Ellie - I do think it is the 'brain' of the Roche pump, or something very like it. It doesn't handle square wave/double wave boluses though so the pump version may well be more advanced. You might ask your DSN to see if there's an Expert you can try before you shell out the ?120. I think Shiv mentioned the other day that the Expert was only ?80 so there may well be two different versions, though it would give you an idea I suspect. If you push Roche hard you may well get the remote for free - after all I didn't pay anything for my Expert and I'm not sure Shiv paid for hers either (they had a few for people on trial which I was told about but not contacted in time to take part).
Yes Sofa, I think you are right, the active insulin is not factored in to the bolus recommendation (I'd worked that out already), handily the manual actually tells you what is and isn't involved in the calculations with some examples. It also seems to sort of ignore recently eaten carbs in its calculations... though there's an 'offset' period after bolus which in some of their 'double bolus' examples covered those eventualities. It was one reason why the 'active insulin' was so handy.
Mostly the 'bolus advice' seems to be a straight carbs:insulin ratio calculation, with an adjustment factor based on your sensitivity at that time of day depending on whether your BGs are higher or lower that the midpoint of your desired range (with a more complex calculation if you test following a meal based on your desired maximum post-meal rise). The advice screen shows you the mechanics of the calculation and also how much active you supposedly have on board which is why it was so useful for me, particularly given the rounding up and down to whole units that happens for us MDI luddites. (if I know I have 0.8u active I'm happy to go for a rounded down bolus suggestion caused by being at the lower end of in-range)
This evening I had a 'proper' Active insulin of 1u after a mid-afternoon correction so I'm keen to know how that figure is worked out. I've dropped Roche a line and will report back if they shed any light on it.
Yes Sofa, I think you are right, the active insulin is not factored in to the bolus recommendation (I'd worked that out already), handily the manual actually tells you what is and isn't involved in the calculations with some examples. It also seems to sort of ignore recently eaten carbs in its calculations... though there's an 'offset' period after bolus which in some of their 'double bolus' examples covered those eventualities. It was one reason why the 'active insulin' was so handy.
Mostly the 'bolus advice' seems to be a straight carbs:insulin ratio calculation, with an adjustment factor based on your sensitivity at that time of day depending on whether your BGs are higher or lower that the midpoint of your desired range (with a more complex calculation if you test following a meal based on your desired maximum post-meal rise). The advice screen shows you the mechanics of the calculation and also how much active you supposedly have on board which is why it was so useful for me, particularly given the rounding up and down to whole units that happens for us MDI luddites. (if I know I have 0.8u active I'm happy to go for a rounded down bolus suggestion caused by being at the lower end of in-range)
This evening I had a 'proper' Active insulin of 1u after a mid-afternoon correction so I'm keen to know how that figure is worked out. I've dropped Roche a line and will report back if they shed any light on it.
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Ellie Jones
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Believe me I have no intentions of forking out ?120 for the handset...
It does sound like a cutdown version of the Combo handset, if it hasn't got blue tooth caperbilites then it's deffo different..
By what you are saying the software sounds if it's based on the Compass software, with this when doing bolus or corrections it worked it out very much the same, and correction factors are % ie 15% reduction if exercising etc and a sensivity factor for calculating different levels of BG, if above 12mmol/l add 15% for example.. Shall have to hunt out my manual for the software as this gave the calculations used...
I found with the Compass software it wasn't the answer to all, and compared against other manufacturers pump wizard it lacked a lot.. But saying that as long as you aware of it's failings it's a pretty usefull piece of software..
And with any of the verious manufacurers wizards for carb/correction at times you won't agree with it's suggestion and you make a judgment call, but you do get used to when these are required..
Its the case the more information available the better our judgment call is..
It does sound like a cutdown version of the Combo handset, if it hasn't got blue tooth caperbilites then it's deffo different..
By what you are saying the software sounds if it's based on the Compass software, with this when doing bolus or corrections it worked it out very much the same, and correction factors are % ie 15% reduction if exercising etc and a sensivity factor for calculating different levels of BG, if above 12mmol/l add 15% for example.. Shall have to hunt out my manual for the software as this gave the calculations used...
I found with the Compass software it wasn't the answer to all, and compared against other manufacturers pump wizard it lacked a lot.. But saying that as long as you aware of it's failings it's a pretty usefull piece of software..
And with any of the verious manufacurers wizards for carb/correction at times you won't agree with it's suggestion and you make a judgment call, but you do get used to when these are required..
Its the case the more information available the better our judgment call is..
I have had this meter since July, I am also on the trial for it. I have used it for a while and then got fed up with it and went back to my old one. Found it took to long before lunch at work to key all the info in, half the time I was hypo and just wanted my lunch. Im sure its got its benefits, i'll go back and start using it again now I am hypoing less. x Ps I also was to get a email about it, started using it in July and have never heard anything from the company. x
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I've been using this for around a month now, including one week with spectacularly good levels...
I've written a (fairly moany) review with my thoughts here:
Accu-Chek Aviva Expert Review - One month in http://bit.ly/e5VDrc
I've written a (fairly moany) review with my thoughts here:
Accu-Chek Aviva Expert Review - One month in http://bit.ly/e5VDrc
Jennywren
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I have to speak from my experiences and i think its fab 🙂 I too got it free after doing a dafne course last june we was one of the first groups to test it i believe , then when i got my pump in september it made everything so much easier because i was given the accu-check combo which uses the avia along side the pump ,ive had no problems and my diabetes has got so much better 🙂
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Good to hear Jenny
I like it too, and to be honest I think I like it much more than my review suggests... there are a few niggles and occasionally it seems to make poor recommendations, but I'm still working out what settings it needs to give me the right answers if that makes sense.
M
I like it too, and to be honest I think I like it much more than my review suggests... there are a few niggles and occasionally it seems to make poor recommendations, but I'm still working out what settings it needs to give me the right answers if that makes sense.
M
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I keep meaning to write a follow-up post on our blog.
I really like it. There are a few frustrations and inconsistencies in the way the software is set up, but on the whole I'd say it has certainly helped me to achieve more stable levels (particularly in the way it calculates small + and - corrections even within your target range), and means I can now adjust insulin ratios much more precisely than the general round up/round down methods I've always used to make the maths easier.
M
I really like it. There are a few frustrations and inconsistencies in the way the software is set up, but on the whole I'd say it has certainly helped me to achieve more stable levels (particularly in the way it calculates small + and - corrections even within your target range), and means I can now adjust insulin ratios much more precisely than the general round up/round down methods I've always used to make the maths easier.
M
Ellie Jones
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As I said in my earlier post, I had did get the expert handset (without paying) for my pump, so been using it since end mid January...
I do like it and it has been very usefull with aiding better control, I was pretty lucky in that when I set up my perimeters for the wizards they were pretty correct so didn't have the niggles of seeing advice I wasn't expecting..
I did have to rethink one of my methods for correcting a high bg to work with the handset, my old method of using a combination of bolus and TBR on the pump, meant that the wizard wouldn't include the TBR in calculations, so it was a case of sorting out a dual wave instead! But saying that since using the handset, I haven't hit the BG levels to implement this combination!
From a pumers prospective, it actually doesn't take any longer using the handset than it did to take a BG reading and program the bolus.. It actually makes life easier as you don't have to touch the pump at all, just press ok to set off the delivery!
I do like it and it has been very usefull with aiding better control, I was pretty lucky in that when I set up my perimeters for the wizards they were pretty correct so didn't have the niggles of seeing advice I wasn't expecting..
I did have to rethink one of my methods for correcting a high bg to work with the handset, my old method of using a combination of bolus and TBR on the pump, meant that the wizard wouldn't include the TBR in calculations, so it was a case of sorting out a dual wave instead! But saying that since using the handset, I haven't hit the BG levels to implement this combination!
From a pumers prospective, it actually doesn't take any longer using the handset than it did to take a BG reading and program the bolus.. It actually makes life easier as you don't have to touch the pump at all, just press ok to set off the delivery!
NiVZ
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Thanks for your replies. It's encouraging to hear it's been useful.
I said in another post that my BG had been quite level lately, but it was around the 10-12 mark
Since getting the meter, I've been in single figures the whole time and only had one hypo (due to me overestimating pancakes last night).
So far the thing I'm most impressed with is the half unit corrections it's been suggesting that I probably wouldn't have bothered with.
Like you Ellie, I think I've been quite lucky that I was already quite sure of my own ratios and sensitivity to insulin so that made it a lot easier to setup and I've had to spend less time fine tuning.
Thanks again,
NiVZ
I said in another post that my BG had been quite level lately, but it was around the 10-12 mark
Since getting the meter, I've been in single figures the whole time and only had one hypo (due to me overestimating pancakes last night).
So far the thing I'm most impressed with is the half unit corrections it's been suggesting that I probably wouldn't have bothered with.
Like you Ellie, I think I've been quite lucky that I was already quite sure of my own ratios and sensitivity to insulin so that made it a lot easier to setup and I've had to spend less time fine tuning.
Thanks again,
NiVZ
NiVZ
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- Relationship to Diabetes
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Hello,
Still getting used to this meter and had a question I hoped you guys could help with.
I'm happy with the ratios I've entered, sensitivity, etc, but I'm having a problem with snacks.
My ratio is 2units : 10g carbs for breakfast, then 1:10 at all other times. And I've got my snack size set at 10g
I had breakfast this morning at 8:00 and it calculated correctly 6 units for my 30g carbs and I was in range. I then wanted to have a snack at 10am (again, BG in range) and entered 10g and it's telling me to take 1 unit. On DAFNE you are taught you can get aaway with 10g snack without needing insulin and I thought thats what this snack size was for, but it seems to always tell me to take insulin to cover my 10g snack.
Any ideas?
Mike - saw your blog and I agree the 'Active Insulin' is VERY confusing. Will be relaying that back to them along with how when you setup the time blocks it always defaults to your first ratio but most people have a different ratio first thing. Would have been better if it copied the ratio from the previous time block you entered. I'm also waiting for an infrared cable to get it hooked up to the PC - IR seems a bit old fashioned and slower in this digital USB age. I did mention this to the rep when I got the meter, but I'll see how it goes when it arrives.
NiVZ
Still getting used to this meter and had a question I hoped you guys could help with.
I'm happy with the ratios I've entered, sensitivity, etc, but I'm having a problem with snacks.
My ratio is 2units : 10g carbs for breakfast, then 1:10 at all other times. And I've got my snack size set at 10g
I had breakfast this morning at 8:00 and it calculated correctly 6 units for my 30g carbs and I was in range. I then wanted to have a snack at 10am (again, BG in range) and entered 10g and it's telling me to take 1 unit. On DAFNE you are taught you can get aaway with 10g snack without needing insulin and I thought thats what this snack size was for, but it seems to always tell me to take insulin to cover my 10g snack.
Any ideas?
Mike - saw your blog and I agree the 'Active Insulin' is VERY confusing. Will be relaying that back to them along with how when you setup the time blocks it always defaults to your first ratio but most people have a different ratio first thing. Would have been better if it copied the ratio from the previous time block you entered. I'm also waiting for an infrared cable to get it hooked up to the PC - IR seems a bit old fashioned and slower in this digital USB age. I did mention this to the rep when I got the meter, but I'll see how it goes when it arrives.
NiVZ
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