Diabetech® Introduces the GlucoMON™ Wireless Device and the World’s First Automated Wireless Glucose Alert System for People with Diabetes

by Anonymous

Dallas, Texas August, 2003 - Diabetech L.P. (www.diabetech.net), a privately owned Dallas, Texas based company formed in response to the founder’s daughter being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, announced today at the American Association of Diabetes Educator’s (AADE) 30th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Salt Lake City, the limited availability of the GlucoMON wireless device and a customizable managed service which provides automatic glucose test alerts. These test results or messages indicating a missing scheduled test are sent remotely based on the subscriber’s profile including text messages to cellular phones, pagers and email.

The GlucoMON™ wireless device by Diabetech® is the culmination of months of clinical telemedicine trial research and over 2 years of technical and patient-influenced user design. “While the concept of transmitting glucose data wirelessly is not new, being able to automatically send data remotely without user intervention on low cost custom wireless devices is” said Kevin McMahon, Diabetech’s President and CEO. “Many leaders in the field of diabetes and parents of children with diabetes tell us that the patent pending GlucoMON and other aspects of the Diabetech System will have a significant impact in the diabetes community due to its simplicity, reliability and how it connects the patient's team.”

There were many promising indicators of the GlucoMON’s efficacy experienced during the course of the trial. In one example, Diabetech’s remote monitoring system allowed the physician to keep close tabs on a high-risk patient at home rather than having to admit the child to the ICU thus driving down the cost of treatment.

In another aspect of the trial, peace of mind through remote monitoring promises to improve the quality of life for families with diabetes; "...Diabetech gave our family a needed sense of security. We were able to leave our child in someone else's care and still be notified of blood glucose readings anywhere and anytime” said Kim Schmid, mother of a child with diabetes and a clinical trial participant.

Manufacture of a limited quantity of 250 of this second generation GlucoMON is underway and planned for delivery in September. Now is the time to mail in your $150 deposit, as units will be issued on a first come – first served basis. Special pricing including the GlucoMON device is $299 and $399 for 6 and 12 months, respectively. The GlucoMON docking station and wall charging units are being manufactured in a platinum finish much like many of the cellular phones sold today. The GlucoMON custom case replaces the existing glucose meter case and is slightly larger in order to accommodate the embedded long-range wireless transceiver adding less than 1/2" to the thickness of the case.

TOP 10 REASONS WHY PEOPLE WANT A GlucoMON (as told to us by our pre-registered subscribers):
1.    I want to know my child's blood sugar test results while they are at (school, day care, grandma's, etc...) without always having to depend on a phone call.
2.    I want to know when other people forget to test my child's blood sugar according to my pre-defined schedule or instructions.
3.    I want an easier way to track my newly diagnosed diabetes patients, those going up on insulin pump therapy, and those high risk patients that seem to constantly task my staff and resources.
4.    I'm concerned about my grandmother/elder living alone or in assisted living conditions. This would give me insight into her health and adherence to the prescribed testing.
5.    We as parents need to find a better way to oversee our teenager's testing habits and their self-management. This gives us a way to monitor without having to confront him/her at the door every day and ask to see the meter...it's already posted on the log or alerted to my cell phone.
6.    I want a better way to discuss my child's control with a few of the other parents in my online network. Diabetech's Community Plots allow us to share our data with trusted friends and improves the effectiveness of the discussion.
7.    With our son/daughter heading off to college, this is a scary and anxious time. Having the ability to remotely monitor his/her testing and to periodically access the online charts will make me feel better #1, and #2, will help us to discuss/understand/see the changes they want to make to their regimen.
8.    As a school nurse, I need a better way to communicate with parents of my Type 1 kids. It's not always convenient to stop everything and try to find the parent at home, on their cellular or wherever they might be...just to notify them of a normal blood sugar result.
9.    As a Certified Diabetes Educator, I spend a lot of time working with people to understand their disease and to recommend changes to improve their control. Getting timely feedback in an efficient format regarding the results of those changes will help me to improve the quality of the care I provide and increase my productivity.
10.    Having an HbA1c is nice. However, it only provides me half the story. Adding Diabetech's glucose logs to the picture, I can really understand my level of control and how wild my swings are vs. just knowing some historical average. Having this done automatically is realistically the only accurate and reliable way over the long haul.

“Only after we take account of our early adopter's advice and suggestions will we open the door to the mass market”, said Kevin McMahon. “Providing excellent customer service and end-user documentation is very important to Diabetech”.

Submit your deposit and reserve your place in this first run of GlucoMON subscribers now!

Medical Disclaimer
Neither the GlucoMON nor the Diabetech System are medical devices nor should they be viewed as anything more than an information management tool operating as a “communication pipe”.
For medical advice, please consult a qualified physician or medical expert. In case of emergency, dial 911.

ABOUT DIABETECH
Diabetech is a Dallas, Texas based service provider offering specialized wireless devices within a collaborative diabetes management system. This subscription service is available directly and through distribution partners to individuals, physicians and hospitals to connect the patient’s extended management team through a variety of tools designed to reliably collect, share and analyze diabetes relevant data and information.

For more information on the GlucoMON and the Alert Service, please visit the website at www.diabetech.net.

To order your GlucoMON and reserve your device, please contact Diabetech via email at “yes@diabetech.net” or Toll free (866) 235-7268 and by regular mail including your deposit at:

Diabetech
1444 El Campo Drive, Ste 100
Dallas, Texas 75218-3520

GlucoMON™ and Diabetech® are trademarks and Registered Trademarks of Diabetech Ltd. Co .

OneTouch®Ultra® is a trademark owned by LifeScan, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company