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accurate glucose tester
- Thread starter EB1
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harbottle
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
All meters have to meet the same standard, which is something like 15% of a lab result using highly accurate equipment when > 5.6 and within .83 if < 5.6 (Not sure where the equals goes!)
Some of more accurate than others.
Contour Next One (Ascencia) is apparently one of the most accurate (8% variance with lab results, I think), and is a very nice piece of hardware. Strips are very expensive, so I don't use mine very often (I got it free.)
I use a Contour Blue from the same company, which has very cheap strips and is also a nice piece of hardware. Not sure of its accuracy (I think they claim 10%?). Multiple tests on different fingers give very consistent results - it's Bluetooth, and the Contour app integrates into Apple Health and data is shared with other apps like mySugr. That's the main reason I use it, not for any accuracy.
Both meters also have a ''second go" feature. If there's not enough blood on the first attempt, you can get another go. This works very well.
To be honest, I'm not sure it's worth worrying about for the sake of a few decimal points. I use the meter for the functionality it(And the app) offers. (There's also a website where you can get graphs and statistics of your readings.)
Some of more accurate than others.
Contour Next One (Ascencia) is apparently one of the most accurate (8% variance with lab results, I think), and is a very nice piece of hardware. Strips are very expensive, so I don't use mine very often (I got it free.)
I use a Contour Blue from the same company, which has very cheap strips and is also a nice piece of hardware. Not sure of its accuracy (I think they claim 10%?). Multiple tests on different fingers give very consistent results - it's Bluetooth, and the Contour app integrates into Apple Health and data is shared with other apps like mySugr. That's the main reason I use it, not for any accuracy.
Both meters also have a ''second go" feature. If there's not enough blood on the first attempt, you can get another go. This works very well.
To be honest, I'm not sure it's worth worrying about for the sake of a few decimal points. I use the meter for the functionality it(And the app) offers. (There's also a website where you can get graphs and statistics of your readings.)
Last edited:
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
The thing to check out is the cost of the strips as that is the consumable bit. Look on line for better prices than the pharmacy unless they have special offers. Strips are specific to the monitor.
PerSpinasAdAstra
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Here are two papers which compared various meters:
diabetesjournals.org
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The Contour Next rates highest in both experiments. The Next One is equivalent I assume?
The cost of test strips is a big factor though. I have two meters, one of which is a Contour Next, which consistently reports lower readings than the other meter with an average difference when measuring my fasting blood glucose of around 0.5 mmol/L. When testing before and after meals they both report a similar rise in levels though so they are both consistent in that regard. As the second meter has cheaper strips that's the one I use regularly as I only really need to know the difference between readings before and after meals. I use the Next first thing in the morning because the lower readings and the studies heralding it's supposedly high accuracy rating have significant psychological benefits 😉
Investigation of the Accuracy of 18 Marketed Blood Glucose Monitors
OBJECTIVE. Cleared blood glucose monitors (BGMs) for personal use may not always deliver levels of accuracy currently specified by international and U.S. r
diabetesjournals.org
Comparative Accuracy of 17 Point-of-Care Glucose Meters - PMC
The accuracy of point-of-care blood glucose (BG) meters is important for the detection of dysglycemia, calculation of insulin doses, and the calibration of continuous glucose monitors. The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The Contour Next rates highest in both experiments. The Next One is equivalent I assume?
The cost of test strips is a big factor though. I have two meters, one of which is a Contour Next, which consistently reports lower readings than the other meter with an average difference when measuring my fasting blood glucose of around 0.5 mmol/L. When testing before and after meals they both report a similar rise in levels though so they are both consistent in that regard. As the second meter has cheaper strips that's the one I use regularly as I only really need to know the difference between readings before and after meals. I use the Next first thing in the morning because the lower readings and the studies heralding it's supposedly high accuracy rating have significant psychological benefits 😉
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