Talking Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems

Talking Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems

TALKING BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITORING SYSTEMS

by Ed Bryant

As editor of VOICE OF THE DIABETIC, I am often asked about the
relative strengths and weaknesses of the various voice-enunciation equipped
home blood glucose monitors available today. Although individuals have their
preferences, there is no "best" talking glucose meter; no one monitoring
system is ideal for everyone. Features, prices, convenience, and clarity of
instructions vary, and new equipment periodically appears.
Although many companies make blood glucose monitors, and some
of these display their results in large print, only four currently available
meters allow voice enunciation, in which the device's voice synthesizer "speaks"
the meter's instructions and test results.
Highlights
My personal favorite is the Accu-Chek Voicemate. This talking
meter, which incorporates the proven Accu-Chek Advantage into a system designed
and built by Roche Diagnostics, is the most advanced on the market today, and
the easiest for a blind person to use. Its new Comfort Curve test strip allows
quick and reliable nonsighted placement of the blood sample. No more hanging
drop of blood—just smear or dab it on; the strip sticks well out of the
meter, and you just find the tactile cutout on the side. Even if you have fairly
severe neuropathy in your hands, this feature should make it easy to find the
blood placement spot. And blood never drips onto the meter—so there is
far less need to clean it. Its voice is clear and understandable. The Voicemate
includes two completely new features: A "code key" system for calibrating
the meter to a new set of strips (no more numbers to punch in!), making this
the only talking meter a blind person can calibrate without any sighted aid
at all; and an insulin vial identifier. If you use Eli Lilly insulins, and they
are new enough to be barcoded (1/2001 expiration date or later), insert them
into the special opening, follow the spoken directions, and the machine will
tell you what type of Humulin insulin you have there. (If your insulins are
not barcoded, or not from Eli Lilly, the Voicemate's other features will still
be completely operational.)
Past Boehringer-Mannheim meters (Roche has purchased B-M) were
only available through company representatives. The new Voicemate can be ordered
through any pharmacist. Have your pharmacist contact Roche Diagnostics; telephone:
1-800-428-5076, and ask for catalog #2030802.
The LifeScan One Touch meters: the Profile, and the now-discontinued
One Touch II are often adapted to voice synsthesis. These two meters use the
same procedures, the same test strips, and feature the same detachable test
strip holder. Both require a "hanging drop of blood." Both meters
are accurate, but their operating drill makes them difficult for some users.
Both accept "talk boxes," but voice synthesizers designed for the
One Touch II will NOT operate with the Profile and vice versa.
The "voice boxes," speech synthesizer modules that
plug into the meter's data port and provide its voice, are NOT made by LifeScan,
but by several competing firms, described below. These manufacturers have been
producing voice units for the old One Touch II, and updated versions for use
with the Profile. If you already have a LifeScan One Touch II or Profile, no
modifications are needed to allow use of one of the speech synthesizers. If
you do not yet own a LifeScan monitor, shop around, as some pharmacies and major
discount stores sell glucose monitors substantially below list price.
Talking Glucose Monitors and Voice Boxes
1.) The Accu-Chek Voicemate talking glucose monitor:

Roche Diagnostics Corporation, 9115 Hague Road, Indianapolis,
IN 46250-0100; telephone: 1-800-428-5076.

The Accu-Chek Voicemate, developed in cooperation with Eli Lilly
and Company, incorporates the Accu-Chek Advantage glucose monitor. The Voicemate
is small, portable, and weighs only 12.5 ounces. It contains a "bar code
reader" to describe insulin type (Lilly insulins only). First offered for
sale in 1998, the Voicemate is supplied with a new test strip, the Comfort Curve,
which vastly simplifies the problem of blood sample placement. Very good audiocassette
and large-print instructions are supplied (in English). Suggested retail $495-$525,
available through your pharmacist. Spanish-language customer service is available.
Purchase price includes a carrying bag with adjustable strap.

2.) The Voice-Touch speech synthesizers, for the LifeScan
One Touch II or LifeScan Profile:

Myna Corporation, 239 Western Avenue, Essex, MA 01929; telephone:
(978) 768-9000.

Myna makes a pair of light, compact, convenient, and reliable
glucose meter speech modules. The two models are not interchangeable. The Voice-Touch
modules attach firmly to the meter, adding little bulk, and forming a single
reliable unit. There are no separate switches to remember; the modules operate
off the controls of the LifeScan monitor. The user may choose male or female
voice enunciation. A Spanish-speaking Voice-Touch is now available.
The Myna Corporation offers the Voice-Touch speech synthesizers
for $225 for One Touch II or Profile, the LifeScan meters alone for $135 (One
Touch II) or $109 (Profile). An optional AC adapter is offered, as is a carrying
case, $15 each. Myna's instructional cassettes and large-print instructions
clearly explain the speech modules, but do not describe operation of the LifeScan
glucose monitors.
The LifeScan One Touch meters and Voice-Touch speech synthesizers
are also offered by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Materials Center,
1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; telephone: (410) 659-9314. NOTE: The
Materials Center is open 12:30pm to 5:00pm, weekdays, Eastern Time. The NFB
offers the combination (One Touch II meter plus voice module) for $309 (the
lowest price for a talking glucose monitor in the U.S.), the voice module alone
for $189 (specify whether for One Touch II or Profile), or the glucose meter
alone for $120 (one Touch II) or $135 (Profile). An optional AC adapter costs
$12.
3.) The Digi-Voice modules:

Science Products, Box 888, Southeastern, PA 19399; telephone:
1-800-888-7400.

Science Products makes several versions of their robust and
reliable Digi-Voice speech module: The Digi-Voice Deluxe, and the smaller Mini
Digi-Voice. Voice boxes designed for the One Touch II will NOT operate with
the Profile, and vice versa! The Digi-Voice modules connect to the meter by
a 22-inch patch cord, providing audio output for its readings. Controls are
simple; on the Deluxe a volume control knob and a toggle switch run the voice
synthesizer, separate from the monitor's controls. The Mini's single button
both turns on the voice box and adjusts the volume control, again, separate
from the meter's controls. Readings are announced in a clear, somewhat military,
male voice. Thorough cassette instructions explain the voice box and briefly
cover the Profile meter (Science Products' instructional cassettes do not cover
operation of the One Touch II glucose monitor). No large-print instructions
are supplied. Science Products sells the Digi-Voice Deluxe module alone for
$275, and the Mini Digi-Voice modules alone for $199 (9-volt battery) or $219
(with AC adapter). They offer the LifeScan Profile glucose monitor for $120.
The One Touch II meter is no longer available.
4.) The LHS7 Module, a voice box for the LifeScan Profile:

LS&S Group, P.O. Box 673, Northbrook, IL 60065; telephone:
1-800-468-4789.

The small and light LHS7 attaches to the bottom of the Profile
glucose meter by means of a Velcro patch, and operates through the meter's controls.
Two-position volume control (loud and soft); AC adapter included in purchase
price. English-language voice only; no audiocassette or large-print instructions
are provided. Cost $199, or $313 with a new Profile meter.
5.) Connecting Cables for Adaptive Computers:

Blazie Engineering, 105 E. Jarretsville Road, Forest Hill,
MD 21050; telephone: (410) 893-9333.

Users of Blazie's adaptive computers can connect these machines
to the LifeScan One Touch II or Profile, by plugging into the meter's data port
with the appropriate adaptive cable (such as the Blazie BNS-6). With the appropriate
software (available free from Blazie; One Touch II users need no software) their
computer will speak the LifeScan meter's commands and results.
6.) The Diascan Partner talking glucose monitor:

Home Diagnostics, Inc., 2400 NW 55th Court, Ft. Lauderdale,
FL 33309; telephone: 1-800-342-7226.

The Diascan Partner is unique in that its voice synthesizer
is internal, part of the meter itself. There is no separate speech module to
attach or cords to plug in. This slim, "user friendly" unit allows
somewhat more leeway in application of blood to test strip—with care, blood
may be "painted" onto the strip; many other speech assisted units
require a hanging drop of blood. Powered by two AA batteries, weight is approximately
eight ounces, English or Spanish-language voice.
Some individuals with limited dexterity may find the Partner
difficult to operate, as its test strips are designed to receive the blood outside
the machine, on a flat surface like a table, so there is no strip guide to aid
correct finger placement. Others may appreciate this feature, as it allows movement
of strip to sample site, where others require movement of sample site to meter.
An over-the-shoulder tote bag with adjustable strap is included.
Large-print and easy-to-understand audiocassette instructions (Note: No Spanish-language
instructions; call Home Diagnostics for assistance) are also supplied. Suggested
retail price is $399.
Medicare
Medicare recognizes home blood glucose monitors as "Durable
Medical Equipment," and coverage is provided for diabetics, under Medicare
Part B. Glucose meters without audio output have one specification on the "Fee
Schedule" (EO607), and glucose meters with voice synthesis, or add-on voice
boxes for home blood glucose monitors, have another (EO609) available to diabetics
who are at least legally blind. Be sure to follow all guidelines for reimbursement.
An Invitation to Manufacturers
Currently available "talk boxes" (speech synthesizers)
make use of the same "data port" installed in the meter to allow interfacing
with and downloading to a computer. For many monitors, the hardware is already
in place, and adding speech compatibility should be a simple process. The National
Federation of the Blind urges manufacturers to go the rest of the distance,
and make talking versions of their monitors available to those diabetics who
need and want them. NFB Resolution 97-12 (adopted at the 1997 annual convention
in New Orleans, Louisiana) calls on monitor manufacturers to make their meters
speech-compatible.
Hints and Tips
If an insufficient amount of blood is placed on the test strip,
most meters will indicate "not enough blood." You may even have to
prick your finger again! There are several possible explanations for this frustrating
occurrence:
A. The initial drop of blood was too small: Some folks don't
bleed enough. They can get more blood by holding hands below waist level for
about 15 seconds, shaking them, and/or washing/soaking hands in warm water for
a few minutes before the test. Warm water stimulates the flow of blood to the
fingers. A slightly longer lancet, with deeper penetration, may help some. "Milking
the finger" (squeezing it gently) can also help, as can wrapping a doubled
rubber band between the first and second joint of the finger to be lanced. This
will help cause the finger to become engorged with blood. Hold the rubber band
down with the thumb while lancing. REMOVE THE BAND AS SOON AS YOU LANCE.
Doctors and diabetes educators who treat heart patients have
noted that "prophylactic aspirin therapy," an enteric-coated aspirin
a day to thin the blood and reduce risk of a heart attack, makes it easier for
their diabetic patients to obtain a blood sample. If you are a "difficult
bleeder," the same therapy with enteric-coated aspirin might help you too.
Be sure to talk to your primary-care doctor about aspirin, and to your eye doctor
as well, because blood thinners like enteric aspirin can increase the risk of
retinopathy.
B. There may have been enough blood, but it was placed onto
the wrong part of the test strip: Some folks bleed fast, and may lose the blood
off the finger before they're ready. By the time they get the finger to the
test strip, the blood has fallen in the wrong place. A fast bleeder needs to
work closer to the test strip, and perhaps to employ one of the blood placement
aids discussed in this article. Users of the Diascan Partner should try bending
up the tail of the test strip as an aid to location and placement. If you are
new to your meter, I suggest you test in front of your diabetes educator, or
someone familiar with your meter—perhaps there is some part of the drill
you could do better.
C. Some enthusiastic people, placing the blood on the strip,
press down too hard and push the blood out of its correct position, squishing
it onto the wrong part of the strip: If you use the LifeScan One Touch II or
Profile, it is best to very gently deposit a hanging drop of blood onto the
test strip. Marla Bernbaum, MD, writing in "The ADEVIP Monitor," offered
the following suggestion, pertinent to diabetics with severe neuropathy (who
wouldn't feel the otherwise painful fingertip "stick" she discusses
here):

I have discovered another way to apply blood to the LifeScan
test strip, which has been useful for several of our patients. This method
allows them to stick the tip rather than the side of the finger. We use
the same platform modification [described below], with a dot of Hi-Marks
or T-shirt paint on each side of the strip guide near the depression where
the blood is to be applied. For this approach the meter should be turned
sideways. The patient can then place the pad of the finger on the raised
dot perpendicular to the length of the strip and rock the finger forward
so that the tip of the finger lines up with the depression on the strip
and deposits the blood droplet in the appropriate place. This method increases
the portion of the fingertip that can be used, and is preferable for some
patients, particularly for those who bleed slowly and therefore must place
the blood drop in precisely the right location.

LifeScan Modifications
If you use any of the LifeScan "One Touch" series
glucose meters, some blood placement problems can be solved by modification
of the Test Strip Holder (LifeScan Part #043-123, and note this same part fits
all LifeScan "One Touch" meters). The idea is simply to provide tactile
locating aids for finger location and placement of the blood sample on the test
strip. A raised dot on either side of the test strip will work for some, but
diabetics with limited sensation in the fingertips may find a U-shaped guide
more useful. Most diabetics puncture the side of a fingertip, but those with
severe neuropathy, who can't feel the lancet, and who prick the center of the
fingertip, may be helped by the U-shaped guide. With practice, and the use of
such tactile cues, blind diabetics can correctly place blood samples on the
test strip. (Editor's Note: Thanks to Ann S. Williams, RN, MSN, CDE, for providing
the modified LifeScan Test Strip Holders shown here.)
The Test Strip Holder is detachable, and modifications as described
will in no way interfere with the operation, accuracy, or cleaning of the LifeScan
meter. LifeScan's Technical Services Department (phone: 1-800-227-8862) will
provide a spare Test Strip Holder upon request, without charge. It is recommended
that the modifications be to this spare.
The dots and U-shaped ridge were created with T-shirt paint,
of the type that stands up sharply from a fabric surface. Upon application,
the paint spreads a little, so apply sparingly. Best results come from "tack-painting,"
applying a small amount, then letting it dry (minimum 12 hours), with subsequent
applications to build up the height. Practice first on some other material (posterboard
or paper plate), as the paint can come out quickly. Be sure to have the Test
Strip Holder OFF THE METER when applying the T-shirt paint. For best results,
insert a test strip in the holder as an aid to placement of the dots or U-shaped
ridge. T-shirt paint is inexpensive and is available at most craft and fabric
stores. Although a full spectrum of colors is available, bright, contrasty colors
like orange may aid in low vision situations. Brands and types vary; find one
that gives you a nice hard tactile ridge. Some paints feel too rubbery. "Puffy
paint" flakes off too easily. You may have to experiment.
Several vendors offer commercial alternatives to modifying the
test strip holder. One slips over the LifeScan meter, and the other attaches
directly to the test strip holder. Both devices aid in proper finger placement,
and serve to guide the drop of blood more surely to the test strip. Science
Products (address above, telephone: 1-800-888-7400), makes the Sure Drop, which
slips over the body of the meter. The special Teflon-like coating on the surface
of the device helps direct the blood, but can be damaged by bleach or a hard
brushing—clean with mild soap and warm water. A Sure Drop made for the
One Touch II will not fit the Profile, and vice versa. The unit for the Profile
appears well-made and easy to use. Both units are priced at $24.95 each.
Smart Dot, 2655 West Central Avenue, Toledo, OH 43606; telephone:
1-800-984-1137. The Smart Dot clips directly to the test strip holder of the
LifeScan One Touch II meter. This plastic platform is easy to clean and convenient
to use, but there have been cases of it detaching from the meter in mid-test.
Cost: $19.45.
Don Kramolis and Gary Allman, Blind Rehab Specialists (Manual
Skills), at Waco VA Medical Center, Blind Rehab Clinic, Bldg. 7, BRU, 4800 Memorial
Drive, Waco, TX 76711; telephone: (817) 752-6581 ext. 7489, have developed the
Waco-U-Finger Guide, which, like the Smart Dot, fits any LifeScan Meter. Much
like the T-shirt paint described above, the Waco Guide helps finger orientation.
The guide's other features help tactile strip insertion. Its designers do not
sell finished guides, but offer plans and advice to interested individuals.
I have discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the blood glucose
monitoring systems with voice enunciation currently manufactured. This evaluation
should help blind diabetics and those losing vision, who are just as capable
as the sighted of independently testing their blood sugar levels, and performing
all the other tasks of daily diabetes self-management. Both blind and sighted
diabetics are encouraged to consult with their health care team, and with individuals
experienced in use of glucose monitoring equipment.
Choosing the most appropriate home blood glucose monitor is
an important step in diabetes self-management. As blind diabetics increase their
participation in the mainstream, efficient glycemic control is needed to maintain
good quality of life. The Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation
of the Blind, a support and information network, welcomes your input on blood
glucose testing.