Table 1 Innovative new blood glucose monitors (existing & under development)
From: New technologies for diabetes: a review of the present and the future
 Meter |  Company | FDA/CE status | Meter type |   Outstanding feature(s)/How it works |    Pros |    Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Invasive BG Monitors | ||||||
iBG Star | Sanofi Aventis & AgaMatrix | FDA: approved December 2011 CE: approved Spring 2011 | Plug-and-play (hardware), invasive | Meter can be integrated into iPhone or iTouch | Integrated with smartphone | Only integrated with iPhone/iTouch; requires a blood sample |
Telcare | Telcare Inc. | FDA: approved August 2011 CE: unknown | Multimedia, invasive | Uses 3G cellular service to communicate with smartphone apps and its own web-based software; gives feedback to user with every BG reading; can re-order supplies through meter | Easy to send data to logs and clinicians, gives feedback to user with every BG, easy to reorder supplies | Requires a blood sample |
Freestyle InsuLinx | Abbott | FDA: modified version approved March 2012 CE: approved May 2011 | Smart meter, invasive | Meter with bolus calculator within | No need to calculate bolus dose | Requires a blood sample (0.3 μl) |
One Touch Verio IQ | Lifescan | FDA: approved Feb. 2012 CE: unknown | Smart meter, invasive | Meter with pattern recognition capabilities. Also has a rechargeable battery. | Prompts user when patterns of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia occur, so medication adjustments can be made | Requires a blood sample (0.4 μl) |
Glucose Monitor Tattoo | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University | FDA & CE: pre-submission | Minimally invasive | Superficial, biocompatible tattoo containing special nanosensors that fluoresce in the presence of glucose | Non-invasive BG monitoring, very small (2 mm), fluorescence reader is iPhone compatible | Tattoo needs to be replaced weekly; brightness not yet correlated to specific BG values; will not be available soon |
Non-Invasive Glucose Monitors | ||||||
GlucoTrack | Integrity Applications | FDA: not yet approved CE: approved 2009 | Non-invasive | Uses ultrasound, conductivity, and heat capacity in an ear clip sensor to check BG’s | Non-invasive | Concerns about accuracy in real-life settings |
Portable blood glucose meter | Grove Instruments | FDA & CE: unknown | Non-invasive | Uses its patented Optical Bridge technology to read glucose through a finger or earlobe in <20 seconds | Non-invasive | Size of device (company is working on miniaturizing it) |
Electronic thumb-pad sensor | Baylor University (Texas) | FDA & CE: pre-submission | Non-invasive | Measures changes in electromagnetic energy waves passed through the skin to detect BG | Non-invasive | Unknown |
Near infrared optical spectroscopy | Inlight Solutions | FDA & CE: not yet approved | Non-invasive | Uses near infrared optical spectroscopy and multivariate analysis to measure glucose through the skin | Non-invasive | Unknown |
LighTouch Technology | LighTouch | FDA & CE: not yet approved | Non-invasive | Light of a specific color is projected into the user’s fingertip and the different colored light that is reprojected from the fingertip is measured | Non-invasive | Unknown; device has been in development since 1999 |
I-SugarX | Freedom Meditech | FDA & CE: not yet approved | Non-invasive | Measures the fluorescence of glucose in the aqueous solution of the eye | Non-invasive, quick test | Must shine a light in the eye (for <1 second) to get a glucose reading |
Contact lens CGM | University of Washington | FDA & CE: pre-submission | Non-invasive | Contact lens with additional enhancements, including an antenna, measures glucose concentrations in tears and sends the signal to a receiver | Non-invasive | User must have a normal tear concentration; device needs further improvement to work in humans |
Non-Invasive Continuous Glucose Monitors | ||||||
Symphony® tCGM System | Echo Therapeutics | FDA & CE: device in development, studies ongoing | Non-invasive, continuous glucose monitor | Skin is prepped with Prelude device to increase permeability (stratum corneum is removed), and a needle-free, wireless transdermal sensor is placed on the area | Non-invasive; Gives a glucose reading every 1 minute; Designed to use in hospital critical care settings | Concerns about possible side effects |
Multisensor Glucose Monitoring System | Biovotion AG | FDA & CE: unknown | Non-invasive, multisensor | Uses optical sensors/impedance spectroscopy to deliver continuous information on glucose variations | Non-invasive | Unknown |