July 22, 2001
Blood Tests and Insulin Injections
Question from England:
My father-in-law who is in his late eighties and has failing eyesight needs to check his blood sugar levels because he has diabetes, and, recently, hes finding it increasingly difficult to use the equipment he has at home. I believe it involves pricking the finger, and then ‘hoovering up’ the drop of blood. It is the collection of the blood droplet that he is finding difficult.
Is there a home blood glucose monitoring system which is more suitable for someone in his situation? I assume that there must be equipment of this type designed for use by the blind.
Answer:
Ed Bryant has a valuable article for anyone who is visually impaired. See: Talking Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems.
DM
Additional comments from Dr. Larry Deeb:
The new Medisense SOF-TACT might be useful. It is used on the forearm, creates a vacuum, pricks the arm, and then draws the blood to the strip. It also has a pretty big reader-friendly readout.
LD
Additional comments from Dr. Donough O’Brien:
Roche makes the Accu-ChekTM Voicemate® system for non sighted people which is rather expensive unfortunately. You would need to get in touch with the local Roche representative to find out the details of how to obtain it.
DOB
