Roche launches blood-glucose meter with built-in insulin dose calculator

 

 

INDIANAPOLIS — Roche on Tuesday announced that the Accu-Chek Aviva Expert system is now available by prescription. The device represents a significant advancement in blood-glucose meter technology for people with diabetes who take multiple daily insulin injections, Roche stated. The meter's integrated bolus calculator provides easy-to-use and reliable dose recommendations based on automated calculations, eliminating the need for manual dosing calculations and estimations. A survey of Accu-Chek Aviva Expert users found that 79% reported increased confidence with insulin dose calculation, and 52% reported a reduced fear of hypoglycemia.

 

"The Accu-Chek Aviva Expert system is the first and only system of its kind that provides meal and correction insulin bolus recommendations, which can help patients on insulin therapy have the confidence they need to better manage their diabetes," said Marc Gibeley, head of Roche Diabetes Care North America.

 

"The availability of the Accu-Chek Aviva Expert system marks an important, game-changing milestone in diabetes self-management by making the process of calculating insulin dosage easier and less susceptible to error," said Bruce Bode, a clinical associate professor in the department of medicine at Emory University and a diabetes specialist with Atlanta Diabetes Associates. "One of the biggest barriers to optimal self-management is the ability to calculate bolus doses. My hope is that the device will become the standard of care for patients on multiple daily insulin injection therapy due to the simplicity of the built-in bolus calculator."

 

In the United States, approximately 6 million people take insulin to help manage their diabetes. Many people also take multiple daily injections of insulin to help manage their disease, which requires them to calculate proper insulin dosage amounts based on their food intake and blood-glucose readings. These calculations are complex, and constant precision is critical to determine the proper insulin dose. A multicenter study found that 63% of manually calculated insulin doses were incorrect. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were nearly 100,000 emergency room visits each year between 2007 and 2011 that were attributed to insulin-related hypoglycemia and other errors, and that these visits accounted for roughly 9% of all ER visits due to drug reactions during this timeframe.