Question from Pembroke Pines, Florida, USA:

I know you have had several questions on picking out a meter and I’m trying to determine just how to pick one out for use. I’ve read all those responses, but, being curious by nature, do you have any information on how blood glucose meters actually work? Is there any place to look up this information? That is, once you put a drop of blood on the strip, how does the meter actually read it? I know that the FDA lists that meters can vary by up to 20%, is this because of the mechanism of how it works? Why do some strips require calibration, but others do not? Do different meters have different mechanisms of working? I know meters have been around for a while, has the technology changed? Are some methods more accurate than others? Is there more of a benefit to a meter than needs coding, versus a meter that doesn’t? Since one has to poke their finger multiple times a day, its interesting to know why the reading on the meter is what it says it is.