It's certainly been a busy time for the launch of new diabetes products in Ireland; the Freestyle Libre was launched in November. You can read 16 year old Hailey’s review of the Libre here and some information about the funding of it here. And earlier in October, Ascensia (formerly Bayer) launched its newest blood glucose meter and integrated app - CONTOUR®NEXT ONE meter and the CONTOUR®DIABETES app. You can find out more about the specifics of this new meter and app here. Thriveabetes was asked if we would share information about this new product with our followers and subscribers. And, as I was really interested in this meter myself, I asked if I could have a meter sent to me. Both the meter and the app are free for everybody and the meter had already been launched in Ireland. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and I'll do a full review of it for you next week.

This meter is one of the few existing blood glucose meters that is integrated with a smartphone app. Blood Glucose results captured throughout the day are automatically synced and logged. It removes the need for uploading to a desktop computer or laptop.

From the Contour Next One website, the key features are;

- Wireless-enabled smart meter that links to a smart mobile device via Bluetooth® connectivity. - smartALERTS™ for critical high or critical low readings. - SmartLIGHTTM feature that gives instant indicator of your blood glucose results using traffic light colours. - Second-Chance™ sampling, which prompts blood to be reapplied if there is not enough the first time, helping to avoid lancing for a second time and the wasting of strips. - Exceeds the EN ISO 15197:2015 accuracy criteria accuracy.

"EN ISO 15197:2015 states that ≥95% of results must be within ± 0.83 mmol/L of the reference result for samples with blood glucose concentrations ˂5.56 mmol/L or ±15% for samples with blood glucose concentrations ≥5.56 mmol/L. Data in the clinical setting showed that 99.4% of readings from subject-obtained fingertip results."

- The ability to share the reports of your blood glucose results and patterns with your healthcare professional either in advance or on the day of their appointment.

I found out that my smart devices are all “iOld” and not compatible with the App but I could still use it effectively and I’ve taken that into consideration in my review. See the very end of this post for a list of all the devices that this app is compatible with.

 

HOW DOES IT WORK?

This meter sends your blood glucose reading straight to the app, via bluetooth, which can be accessed on a smartphone, tablet or computer. This meter & app is ideal for parents of a child who has type 1 diabetes because you can have multiple users of the App. If your child has an SNA at school who is helping him/her with her blood glucose checking and has the app on their phone, the parent at home has access to the same information on the app on their phone, tablet or desktop.

 

HOW TO GET IT?

The Contour Next One is available through their website: https://www.contournextone.ie/free-meter/ Or by telephoning 1 890 920 111 (Mon-Fri, 9:00am-5:00pm).

 

The CONTOUR® DIABETES app works with the following mobile devices:

Apple (iOS) mobile devices installed with Apple iOS 8 and above, which includes at a minimum: iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2 iPad mini 2, 3, 4 iPad Pro iPod touch 5 and 6

Android mobile devices installed with Android Lollipop 5.0 and above, which includes at a minimum:

Samsung Galaxy S4/S4 Mini/S5/S5 Mini/S6 Samsung Galaxy Note 2/3/4/5 Samsung Galaxy A5