2016 · Journal of endocrinological investigation · paywalled
Head-to-head comparison between flash and continuous glucose monitoring systems in outpatients with type 1 diabetes
Bonora et al.
The finding, in our words
In eight outpatients with type 1 diabetes, the FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitor agreed well with the Dexcom G4 Platinum continuous glucose monitor (r²=0.76, MARD 18.1%). Both devices similarly estimated time in glycaemic ranges and glucose variability, though agreement was poorer during hypoglycaemia and in days 11 to 14 of wear.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Over-the-counter continuous glucose monitors demonstrated reasonable agreement with overall capillary blood glucose trends in individuals without diabetes, yielding an overall mean absolute relative difference of 12.9%. However, sensor accuracy decreased following carbohydrate consumption, suggesting caution is required when using these devices for diagnostic cut-offs or exact-value monitoring.
Prakash et al., Journal of diabetes science and technology (paywalled) · source ↗
Non-invasive and minimally invasive blood glucose monitoring techniques enable continuous tracking without pain, although traditional invasive methods retain superior accuracy relative to reference blood glucose measurements. Emerging wearable biosensors and alternative matrices such as interstitial fluid, saliva, and sweat offer promising solutions to enhance patient compliance and quality of life.
Ahmadian et al., Journal of medical engineering & technology (paywalled) · source ↗
Continuous glucose monitoring in interstitial fluid provides diabetes patients with a tool for insulin dosing and diet planning that avoids the pain and inconvenience of fingerstick testing. Wearable sensors can also track lactate, sodium, potassium and hydrogen ions in sweat, and as methods to correlate these with blood concentrations improve, the technology will become valuable for monitoring people under extreme physiological stress.
Gao et al., Journal of applied physiology (paywalled) · source ↗
A redundant continuous glucose sensor with two working electrodes achieved better accuracy (mean absolute relative deviation 10.1%) and more display time than either electrode alone in adults with type 1 diabetes over seven days. Its performance compared favourably with existing high-quality sensors.
Sharifi et al., Journal of diabetes science and technology (paywalled) · source ↗
During induced glucose swings, a prototype CGM system achieved lower mean absolute relative differences (8.2–10.0%) than an established Dexcom G4 (11.3–12.6%) and proved less susceptible to error when glucose was falling rapidly. This suggests that improved sensor technology can support more reliable patient-centric glucose monitoring during glycaemic variability, a key requirement for decentralised diabetes management.
Pleus et al., Journal of diabetes science and technology (paywalled) · source ↗