Voice of the Diabetic

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GLUCOWATCH UPDATE

From the Editor: Last issue, VOICE Vol. 15, No. 4, we asked Where s the Glucowatch?

The Glucowatch Biographer is the almost-noninvasive blood glucose monitor we

last reported as close to final approval, having been accepted by its Advisory

Committee at the Food and Drug Administration. At that time, we noted final

FDA approval is usually a formality, once these hurdles are past. But, as Dr.

Russell Potts, Vice President for Research of CYGNUS, the GlucoWatch s manufacturer,

pointed out, it is impossible to tell when the government will get around to

doing something. The FDA has not yet sent CYGNUS the appropriate certificate.

On a related point, in the above article I expressed concern that the Glucowatch

did not yet incorporate speech compatibility. I said Dr. Potts had not returned

my calls and letters about this matter. On November 9, Dr. Potts called me,

and discussed the Glucowatch, its future, and the possibility of making it adaptive

for blind individuals. He apologized for not responding sooner, and said he

and his company were anxious to get it out to consumers, and gain their "real

world" feedback. "We have every intention of expanding its use," Dr. Potts said,

"including for use by people who are sight-impaired." He stated Cygnus had to

launch the basic meter before contemplating subsequent products, but their intention

was to do so in the not too distant future.

For more information about the Glucowatch and its availability, contact: CYGNUS,

Inc., 400 Penobscot Drive, Redwood City, CA 94063-4719; telephone: (650) 369-4300;

fax: (650) 599-2503; website: www.cygn.com

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