Intuity Medical presents POGO Automatic One-Step blood glucose monitor 

Intuity Medical, a commercial-stage medical technology and digital health company is debuting the POGO Automatic Blood Glucose Monitoring System.

The company shared that the product is the first and only FDA-cleared blood glucose monitor whose 10-test cartridge technology makes a glucose test possible with only the press of a button and without needing to carry separate test strips and lancets.

“We know that people with diabetes are more effective at managing their diabetes when they regularly check their blood glucose and use the information to take action,” said Daniel Einhorn, MD, medical director of Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute, president of Diabetes and Endocrine Associates, and chairperson of the Intuity Medical Scientific Advisory Board. “However, my patients and millions of others with diabetes have struggled for decades with the burden of checking their glucose because it’s complicated, there’s a lot to carry around, and it’s intrusive. What they’ve needed is a simple, quick and truly discreet way to check their blood glucose, so they’ll actually do it.”

Traditional blood glucose meters present barriers that hinder people from testing, including the complexity of the testing procedure, the hassle of handling and carrying individual test strips and lancets, and the disruption that testing with traditional meters brings to everyday life, the company noted.

[Read more: Smart Meter launches iGlucose for gestational diabetes]

“For people with diabetes, routine blood glucose monitoring is central to the management of their diabetes. Yet for many, the barriers that come with using traditional blood glucose meters often prevent people from testing regularly,” said Emory Anderson, president and CEO of Intuity Medical. “POGO Automatic only requires the press of a button to test and no need to access separate supplies, like test strips and lancets, so testing is less disruptive to a user’s everyday life. It can be done discreetly within seconds, virtually anywhere a user chooses, whether it’s at a table in a restaurant, while commuting to work on a train, or when exercising at the gym. We are excited to offer POGO Automatic to people with diabetes to help alleviate their frustration and free them from those barriers to testing with an easy-to-use product that provides an accurate glucose result in a matter of seconds.”

Ushering in a new era in blood glucose monitoring–automatic blood glucose monitoring (ABGM)–POGO Automatic is the first and only FDA-cleared ABGM whose 10-test cartridge technology makes it possible to lance and collect blood and produce a glucose result in just one step, without the need to individually load lancets or test strips.

With One-Step testing, POGO Automatic delivers a greatly simplified and discreet blood glucose testing experience that is less disruptive to the user’s everyday life. Once the 10-test cartridge is loaded and the monitor turned on, the user only has to press their finger on a button to activate POGO Automatic, which then automatically does all the work of lancing and blood collection, followed by a four-second countdown and a result. This single-step test greatly simplifies blood glucose testing compared to using a traditional blood glucose meter, which can require as many as 15 or more steps to conduct a blood glucose test.

POGO Automatic also eliminates the hassle of having to handle and carry a bag of testing supplies, because all the lancets and test strips needed for 10 tests are built into a single integrated cartridge. Once POGO Automatic is loaded with a test cartridge, the only thing a person with diabetes needs to carry is the monitor itself.

[Read more: Diabetes in focus: Suppliers look to ease pain points of condition management]

POGO Automatic test results can automatically sync via Bluetooth with the free Patterns app, which is available for download on the user’s smartphone (iOS and Android). The Patterns app helps users get the most from their test results by helping them see glucose trends so they can make better decisions between physician visits to achieve their glucose goals. The app integrates with several of the most popular wellness devices and apps, and users can also set it to share glucose data with their healthcare team members, who can use the Patterns healthcare provider portal to view patient results and assist with treatment decisions.

POGO Automatic is FDA-cleared, meets the FDA’s accuracy requirements, and requires only a small blood sample.

POGO Automatic is now available for purchase with a prescription or over-the-counter at Walgreens stores across the U.S. and at CVS Pharmacy locations in select regions, with increasing availability at CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide anticipated within the coming months. POGO Automatic can also be purchased online at the POGO Store on the POGO Automatic website.

The POGO Automatic Monitor and Test Cartridges also are eligible for purchase using Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts.