Test Taking Made Easier for Diabetics

Originally Published MDDI June 2002

MEDICAL DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2002

Accu-Chek Compact Blood Glucose Meter

Submitted by Design Continuum Inc. (West Newton, MA); manufactured by Roche Diagnostics GmbH (Mannheim, Germany)

Each day diabetics test their blood glucose levels three to five times to determine how much insulin to inject, or what to eat at their next meal. Many of the blood glucose monitors on the market operate similarly and require the diabetic to perform a series of manual steps—insert a test strip into the device, prick a finger with a lancet, deposit a drop of blood on the test strip—before providing the user with a reading. Roche Diagnostics GmbH sought to distinguish its Accu-Chek Compact blood glucose meter from the competition and hired Design Continuum Italia (Milan, Italy) to help.

"Through conversations with patients, we identified strip handling as a primary way in which we could provide a unique benefit," says Bruce Fifield, cofounder and managing director of Design Continuum Italia. Diabetics often suffer from insensate fingers, and they said that manipulating and positioning test strips correctly in a monitor proved difficult, as well as attention grabbing in social situations. They wanted an easier, more discrete test-taking process.

"We experimented with a number of ideas and designed several working study models," Fifield adds. "One study model required customers to click the meter onto a package of test strips, and the meter would pull off one at a time. However, there were still two separate packages, and customers responded better to all-in-one solutions. The automatic, rotating drum idea appealed to everyone."

With Accu-Chek Compact—which has been designed to resemble a cellular phone to appeal to customers who prefer a small device that doesn't "look like a medical device"—users insert a drum-shaped cartridge containing 17 test strips into the device in an intuitive process similar to loading film into a 35-mm camera.

"There's only one way to insert the drum, so it's an easy, error-proof way to test," says Olaf Schulzeck, vice president of program management and integrated systems, diabetes care, for Roche Diagnostics. Patients insert a cartridge into the device, push a button, and a test strip is loaded. They then prick their finger with the attached spring-loaded, pen-like lancet device (which features 11 depth settings) and apply a small drop of blood on the automatically presented, properly positioned disposable test strip. After 15 seconds, they read the result on the device's LCD screen. An eject button releases the strip from the device.

In addition to being more convenient and easier to use for older patients and diabetics with insensate fingers, the drum design provides other advantages. While many blood glucose test devices require the user to update test-strip lot-code information—often by inserting a small chip or manually entering a numerical code into the meter each time a new box of test strips is started—it can be difficult for diabetics to perform these functions. Plus, they may forget to insert a new chip or code information, which could result in inaccurate readings. Accu-Chek Compact dispenses with the need for either of these steps.

"Accu-Chek Compact ensures that patients get more-accurate readings," says Schulzeck. "Test strips can be damaged by heat or humidity, but you can't tell by looking at them if they're OK, so a patient may use a damaged strip, get an inaccurate reading, and then take an incorrect dose of insulin. Our drum provides 100% control of each test strip—we have the only device on the market that automatically performs a test-strip quality check on every strip." Accu-Chek Compact also monitors for many other sources of error, such as not enough blood on the test strip.

Schulzeck concludes, "Our goal was to provide more-accurate diabetic glucose testing via a device that combines attractive design with high technology to give customers greater convenience. Continuum has helped Roche identify an area where errors can occur and difficulty can be experienced: when patients have to handle the test strips. Now, everything is done automatically to alleviate those concerns."

Copyright ©2002 Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry