Abbott Introduce Freestyle Libre 14 day Glucose Monitoring And Aims To Be Global Leader In Diabetes Management

Abbott Laboratories has always aimed to help people with diabetes move away from traditional fingerstick testing towards continuous and minimally invasive glucose monitoring, which results in better health outcomes and overall diabetes management. As such Abbott is proud to unveil its new upgraded FreeStyle Libre 14 day Glucose Monitoring device. The FreeStyle Libre 14 day system incorporates a wearable sensor that is placed on the back of the upper arm. The wearer can use their smartphone to get a real-time glucose measurement simply by holding it near the sensor. An app on the phone will display current glucose levels, information on how glucose levels are changing at that moment (i.e. rising or falling), and trends in glucose levels over the previous eight hours and up to 90 days.

The sensor is water-resistant and can be worn for up to 14 days. Users can shower and swim as normal, with no effect on device performance. A tiny filament samples the interstitial fluid at regular intervals to assess glucose levels.

From the app, the data is also automatically uploaded to the cloud, and can be accessed by clinicians to assist them in making treatment decisions. The Freestyle Libre 14 day sensor is one of the most advance and convenient medical device for diabetes management.

One of The Best Medical Devices For Diabetes Management

Traditional glucose monitoring involves sticking a finger, putting a drop of blood on a test strip, inserting it into a reader and waiting for a glucose value. People with diabetes sometimes stick their fingers up to 12 times a day to maintain glucose levels. It’s painful, invasive and a hassle.

When early versions of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) were introduced and provided some relief for diabetes patients; however, they were bulky, required users to carry heavy handheld receivers that weigh as much as bricks, and had sensors that only lasted a few days. And on top of this, prices were expensive. These factors made CGMs undesirable for most and not a viable alternative to fingersticking.

That’s why Abbott’s goal is to make the traditional methods of glucose monitoring (e.g., blood glucose meters, lancets) a thing of the past and irrelevant for the more than 425 million people with diabetes around the world. By introducing the FreeStyle Libre and FreeStyle Libre 14 day CGM systems, Abbott has changed the way people with diabetes manage their condition with a series of firsts: the first to eliminate painful fingersticks, the first factory-calibrated CGM and the first affordable CGM.

Traditional blood glucose monitors only provide readings that represent distinct points in time. People with diabetes depend on this information to make important health decisions, but glucose levels change throughout the day.

Wearables such as the FreeStyle Libre 14 day system allow people to see where their glucose levels are, where they’ve been and where they are heading. They can check their glucose anytime, anywhere, and as many times as they want. By seeing this information, these trends and patterns, they can make informed treatment decisions, resulting in tighter control of their glucose, spending more time in range and less time in hypo or hyperglycemia, all things that contribute to better overall health and improved outcomes.
With a quick, one-second scan of the FreeStyle Libre reader or smartphone over the sensor (about the size of two stacked quarters) worn on the back of the upper arm, a user gets a real-time, every minute glucose reading, historical trends and patterns, and arrows showing where glucose levels are going. It provides actionable information that leads to a better understanding of glucose levels and treatment decisions around insulin, nutrition and other medication.

Abbott built the FreeStyle Libre technology with a patient-centric approach that includes the smallest and longest-lasting self-applied glucose sensor currently available today for up to 14 days . Abbott also designed the device with accessibility and affordability in mind and pricing it at a fraction of the cost or roughly 70% lower than other CGMs, to make it more widely available for people with diabetes around the world.

Because of its ease-of-use, accessibility and affordability, and evidence of improved health outcomes, Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre is the leading CGM system worldwide and has changed the lives of more than 1.8 million people with diabetes across 48 countries a true testament to its groundbreaking technology.

Doctors and patients have endorsed FreeStyle Libre which is changing the standard of care, impacting both the people living with it and their doctors who treat them. It’s giving patients and their doctors actionable data they need to manage their condition, which involves adjusting medications, diet or exercise. This is also supported by Abbott’s real-world data from more than half a million users showing that users test their glucose levels on average at least 13x daily, 3x more than current clinical recommendations. Clinical evidence also shows frequent use of FreeStyle Libre is associated with better glucose control, more time in optimal glucose range, and improved HbA1C. 

Wearable technology like FreeStyle Libre has immense potential for what it can achieve. Abbott is working to broaden its impact to more and more people, and Abbott is innovating everyday so they can continue to improve the benefits of this technology and exploring partnerships to make the daily diabetes routine for patients more convenient and streamlined.

Abbott Taking Freestyle Libre Further For Diabetes Management With New Collaborations

Abbott has announced a partnership with Bigfoot Biomedical to develop and commercialize diabetes management systems integrating Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre sensing technology with Bigfoot’s insulin delivery solutions. Bigfoot will utilize this technology in the development of the first-ever personalized, user-friendly systems intended to optimize insulin delivery.

Abbott also working with Novo Nordisk to make diabetes management easier by integrating Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre and connected insulin pens. The integration will enable healthcare professionals, caregivers, and people with diabetes to view glucose and insulin data together.

With more than 425 million people living with diabetes globally, there’s immense potential to bring Abbott’s life-changing technology to more people. Abbott continuing to drive the development of sensing technologies that are accurate, affordable and accessible to help people with diabetes achieve better health outcomes and has only just scratched the surface.

Abbott is also investing in AI and Big Data platforms to integrate The Free Style Libre into a platform so that Diabetes care
can be more precisely managed. Abbott is proud to be at the forefront of the diabetes management revolution.

The Freestyle Libre will be one of the most advance as a Thailand Medical Device for diabetes management when it is introduced in the market at the end of the year.

Thailand Medical News will be giving away 500 sets of the Freestyle Libre 14 day devices in a lucky draw to all our online subscribers in October 2019. Subscribers will be sent an email contest form to submit before the 15^th Of October 2019.