Needle-Free CGM Could Be Available in 2013
Philadelphia-based Echo Therapeutics plans to introduce a needle-free continuous glucose monitoring system to the US market in 2013, pending FDA approval. The Symphony® tCGM is a two-part device that monitors blood glucose by taking readings through a user’s skin rather than via finger pricks. It is intended for use by anyone with diabetes, not just insulin pump users.
The Symphony will use wireless technology to send minute-by-minute readings to such remote monitors as smartphones, computers, or tablets. When a patient’s glucose level reaches a number outside the target range, an audible alarm and visual graphics will sound the alert.
Echo says that in clinical trials of the Symphony, 94.4 percent of the system’s readings were clinically accurate, with a further 2.5 percent defined as “benign errors.” The overall accuracy of the Symphony’s readings was rated at 96.9 percent. When compared to readings provided by a controlled reference, 96.8 percent of Symphony’s minute-by-minute readings varied by plus or minus two mg/dL.
This YouTube video shows how the unit works.