[Diabetes-Talk] Gadgets or devices to help find that elusive drop of blood.

[Paul Magill]

Hi all,

 

I have the same problem some others do, in becoming quite frustrated trying
to get the glucometer test strip on to the drop of blood.

 

I'm hoping to come up with something to help do that, and would like some
advice, comments and any suggestions.  

 

My first thought was a thin plastic ring like band, that is not quite afull
ring, so it can expand to fit any size finger.  

 

There could be a hole in the ring just large enough for the point of the
test strip to go through, and a couple of concentric circles of slightly
raised plastic around that hole, so the lancet device could be aligned so
the stabber would go through the same hole.

 

The idea is that the lancet is fired through the hole in the ring, and the
usual pushing or squeezing of the finger to raise the drop of blood is done.
The thickness of the plastic would contain the drop so it could not move,
and  the test strip could easily be maneuvered into the hole to get the
blood.  Of course, the ring would need to be fairly thin, perhaps 1/32 inch,
a bit less than a millimetre, and the depth of the lancet set greater so it
could still reach the required depth in the skin.

 

Another thought is to make a loop of wire just a little larger than the
width of the test strip.  The loop would lie flat on the skin to contain the
blood drop, and the remaining ends of the wire pressed around the finger so
the loop wouldn't move. Trouble would be firing the lancet through that
loop, and what sort of wire would not interact with the blood or the test
strip?

 

With such a gadget, If no drop of blood was raised, then you would know
that, and could squeeze or lancet again, rather than thinking the drop was
simply missed.

 

Do you know, if these, or any other gadgets have been tried?

 

Do you know whether any glucometer manufacturers have looked at
encorperating a lancet like device into the meter, so the actual glucometer
stabs the test strip into the skin, obtaining the blood directly?

 

Yes, I've been reading the recent posts about the Dexcom G6 and would like
to use it, but here in Australia, it is very expensive, and not covered by
our otherwise quite good health system, so I'm looking for a better way to
use the very much cheaper glucose meters.

 

All comments welcome, even if it is, it has been tried before, and they
didn't work because...

 

With much thanks,

Paul