I promised details on the investigational Bayer Contour Next LINK Meter provided with my pump for the trial, so here you have it. A picture says a thousand words, so I'm going to take advantage of that. Forgive me, however, for the not-so-great picture quality. I had to use my phone camera today, as the other camera's batteries were dead. FYI - If you click on an image, you can see it in a larger format. You also have the option of clicking through all the image up close.
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| Bayer Contour Meter has a USB connection for charging and downloading readings, |
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| Results are displayed across the screen first in a big bold font, then it shoots to a smaller font as seen as it sends the results to the pump. Tough shot: Green bar says, "Results Sent." |
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| There is a useful "Notes" screen that includes this and the following image. |
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| Notes also includes "Activity," which isn't pictured |
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| The meter also includes a reminder to recheck your blood sugar. I haven't used this yet, but this is a new feature, so I'm trying it out. |
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| This is the Menu screen. |
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| This is what you see when you select "Trends." |
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| The is an image of the Logbook. The text under this reading has a scrolling, "Sent, High Blood Sugar." |
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| Same scrolling text and amber color for a low. Font is white if reading is normal. |
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| Easy on/off button, which seems like a silly thing to show you, but if you have the One Touch UltraLink, you understand. Just try turning the sucker off without throwing it out the window. Such an incredibly simple thing to make so hard. |
Pretty cool! I didn't give it enough credit in my first post, but I also hadn't played with it much at that point. I don't upload the meter into Carelink, all results are sent to the pump, so they are uploaded with the pump info. However, if you needed to upload the meter only, you could. Whatcha think?
26 comments:
That looks like a nice meter. I'm curious about the range of comments the user can attach to a reading. With the Ultra Link we can add "too much food," "feel hypo" etc. What comments are available for the Bayer meter.
One feature I'd love to see for a blood glucose meter would be an alarm every 15 minutes after a reading below a certain level is recorded. If I run a fingerstick in my hypo range, that alarm would remind me to run another test until I get my BG back up to safer levels. In your discussions with the people guiding you through the study has this come up?
Sorry for the slow reply Tom! The Bayer does not have those kind of comments avail They are what I showed in the photos and pretty straight forward.
I haven't heard mention of the meter offering alarms after lows, but the CGM does alert you after 30 minutes if you are still reading as low. The idea of the Veo Low Glucose Suspend pump is that if you don't respond, it will shut off, so you don't go lower. Now that is what I'm talking about!
However, you would think that kind of alarm could be easily employed in a meter. Good thinking!
This looks like the new Contour next USB. Can you please describe what kind of sensors this new link device is using?
There are two kind of sensors. 1. the normal Contour Sensors. and 2. the new Contour Next Sensors.
Thanks for your answer.
I have know idea the difference between regular and Next Glucose strips. They are white and a sliver end that goes into the meter. The labels are printed with a generic label with For Investigational Use Only. Sorry I can't be more specific. Also, when you say "sensors" I assume you mean "Glucose Strips."
Hello. Would you happen to know when this meter will be available to the public? Also how lone have you been testing it?
Thanks
Unfortunately, no! Medtronic has beed in trials FOREVER and I am absolutely ready for this whole shebang to come out.
I think this meter will come out with the new pump and sensors and transmitters. Kind of like their Paradigm Pathways program.
I got lazy posting and turned everything in August 1. I miss it! :-(
This meter is available in europe and purchasable via ebay
If they need trialers in Australia, Im keen
I just posted an update on the availability of this meter. Check the comments for another link to a good article from DiabetesMine.com:
http://diabetesselfcare.blogspot.com/2012/09/bayers-contour-next-link-meter-now.html
This meter is very unhandy for leftys. Everything seems backwards and the screen is upside down if you hold it like a lefty. Other than that annoyance it's a good meter. It linked right up with my pump.
You are so right! My daughter is a lefty, but she didn't use it, so i hadn't considered it. We are such a righty-focused world!
Basically I'm happy with the meter. Had some problems getting test strips but problem has been partially solved. My complaint is the piece of junk they call a case. Nothing fits properly in it. It has screwy loops that is difficult to use and the meter is partially obscured by the loop that holds it secure. Looks like it is made for left handed users as the meter reads upside down when used with the right hand. A piece of junk. Needs to be re-engineered.
Basically I'm happy with the meter. Had some problems getting test strips but problem has been partially solved. My complaint is the piece of junk they call a case. Nothing fits properly in it. It has screwy loops that is difficult to use and the meter is partially obscured by the loop that holds it secure. Looks like it is made for left handed users as the meter reads upside down when used with the right hand. A piece of junk. Needs to be re-engineered.
You are not kidding. The case is STUPID! The best thing Life Scan did after 30 years offering products at home was offer the plastic strip holder. Who has time for elastic loops. I hate their lancing device, so there is no room for the Accucheck one I like with the barrels. But even if I did use their pricker, I just doesn't' fit well. Once again, these companies fail on user experience. The case is a very important part of using the device.
I agree about the case. It is horrible and does not come with instructions as to how they think we should use it. Also, the strip container is much too big. The One Touch Ultra has a perfect container.
Wendy,
I have reviewed the comments here and I will say I have no experience with this meter at all. I have been on a pump for 13 years next month and have had diabetes since 1972 and I date myself and I know it doesn't work with meters to transfer readings, but for a lot of reasons I still like the Accu-Chek Complete meter because of all the tags that can be stored which is really useful if traveling. I just wish it was re-engineered with same capabilities with modern technology to be faster and use less blood and still have all the other capabilities I really like as it was designed for use people using pumps. I have looked at other meters and about the only one that seems to come close to this one is the IBGstar and I am not really keen on that either as one must have an "I product" to use that.
Henry
I just got this meter, free from Medtronic. Linked to my pump just fine, setup was easy, color screen is nice. Lancing device will take some getting used to, but it will be OK. But the CASE is awful, and part of the problem is the much too large size of the strip container. The case is too small to close easily given the size of the strip container, very awkward!
I totally agree, Paul! The case is too small for the too large container of strips. Pretty stupid. It is like they didn't look at all the components when they designed the case. Most of these companies really fail at the final details that make their product successful. Yeah, I have a color screen now and accurate numbers, but it takes two hands, lots of cramming and several cuss words to get the kit closed. Can't quite close the deal on "awesome," with that.
I just received my new Contour Next Link meter and I agree with you. No one at Bayer must have given any thought to the case. They provide no guidance anywhere in the instruction manual regarding how to put the strips and lancet device in the case so it will close easily. If I have to fight with this case each time to zip it closed, I might as well return to my One Touch.
Just got mine, and you guys are right about the case - It stinks! The meter is OK so far. However,no one has mentioned Auto-off, and I don't see it in the instructions.
That would be a major flaw. This meter has no major advantages over my OneTouch Ultralink (other than connectivity), so that and the case would be deal-breakers for me. They spend fortunes giving these things away, and I end up putting half of them in the closet on the way to the trash can.
FYI this meter is finally available to purchase on its own. Or you can request an upgrade from Bayer.
9Can anyone tell me more about the "pass-thru" connectivity feature? I've seen at least one site mention that it can replace the Carelink USB. Does that mean I could transfer not only mt BG readings but also the pump details as well through the meter to the Carelink software?
I have been using this meter for about a week now. I love it. My only complaint is the case. It's too small. Very hard to zip up with meter strips and lancet on board.
The case is TERRIBLE!.
What were they thinking??
The case is too small and nearly impossible to zip up. Where can I get another one? I have used Many glucometers during my 49 years of diabetes...never have I ever fought a case.
Please help!!
I can design and make a new case for the Contour Next Link meter. It won't be a mass produced (really cheep) case but handmade. If enough people want to buy one I can do this. The case is HUGELY important and worth the funds to buy something you can use easily. I haven't researched fabrics, zippers, yet. However, I will do this if enough people want it. Let me know what you think!
SewBeeHappy at gmail dot com
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