As a user of LifeScan glucose meters, I was eager to take a look at their diabetes management software. I installed the software, hooked up the data cable, grabbed my trusty UltraSmart glucose meter and started up the software with a double-click on the OneTouch icon.

The software is designed to operate similarly to a Web browser. Four prominent buttons are located in the middle of the home screen: Setup, Download Meter, View Reports and Manually Enter Data. The OneTouch software offers a number of different reports such as Logbook, Glucose Trend, Standard Day, Insulin, Pie Chart, Health Checks, Summary, Average Readings and Exception.

The Health Checks report will show health-related factors such as blood pressure, weight, doctor visits and results of A1C tests.

The very helpful Summary report provides a snapshot of key reports for a given time period.

Another good feature is the Favorite report, which has its own button on the top of the screen. Using the “preferences” setup, choose your favorite report and it will immediately be displayed when the “favorite” button is clicked. The Health Checks report will show data for cholesterol, triglycerides, ketones, A1C, height, weight and more. The report will display only the most current data, but the software can track multiple sets of data. For example, you can keep track of the results of these tests over a period of time and look back to compare or contrast other results with the data.

Another detail I like is the ToolTips feature, which allows you to move your mouse pointer to a particular data value. After a brief pause, a message box will appear with additional information about that data value.

And the Cost?

The OneTouch Diabetes Management Software is free of charge and can be downloaded from the LifeScan Web site. However, it is sizable, and downloading is recommended only if you have high-speed Internet access. If you use a dial-up modem for your Internet connection, order the software on CD. The total price for the data cable and software on CD is $59.98.

For more information, contact LifeScan Customer Service at (800) 227-8862 or visit the Web site at www.lifescan.com.

OneTouch Diabetes Management Software works with the following meters:

• OneTouch Ultra
• OneTouch Ultra 2
• OneTouch UltraSmart
• InDuo
• OneTouch Basic
• OneTouch SureStep
• OneTouch Profile
• OneTouch FastTake
• OneTouch II

The OneTouch software runs on several versions of Windows including Windows 95c, 98SE, NT 4, 2000, ME and XP.

You will need 200 MB of hard disk space, 128 MB of RAM, a serial or USB port, CD ROM drive, a mouse and video monitor with 800 x 600 screen resolution and 256 colors. A data cable for downloading from the glucose meter is required and can be obtained from LifeScan for $29.99.