At an event that took place this month in São Paulo, several bloggers were announced to launch the iBGStar, the most famous glucometer compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch, which allows you to check the body’s glucose wherever the user is. The iPhone Blog tried the accessory.
For diabetes sufferers, it is very important to have strict control of glucose levels in the body at different times of the day. With the iPhone, iPod and (theoretically) the iPad, this control can be even deeper and more organized.
We have been eyeing the iBGStar for years, which was launched in Europe in 2011, but as it could not be sold in Brazil, we could not talk about it. In fact, the accessory had to wait 2 and a half years to finally be approved by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) and only now reaches our market.
With iBGStar, you only need one drop of your blood and it instantly records your glucose level.
With the help of an own application, it is possible, in addition to recording blood glucose levels, sending data to the doctor by email, obtaining trend graphs that demonstrate the evolution of glycemic control for better analysis and medical decision making, recording the count of carbohydrates, insulin units (fibers), medication, food and physical activity. All of this in an organized way, which allows the user to have an overview of his condition and thus improve his health.
There is no iPad-specific version of the app, but it is possible to run it in an enlarged screen mode. Sanofi, the laboratory responsible for bringing the device to Brazil, avoids talking about compatibility with the iPad, as the tests done for Anvisa did not include the tablet, but we tested it on an iPad mini and it worked apparently well. But a warning appears on the screen making it clear that they do not guarantee compatibility.
Its operation is very simple. Simply insert a disposable measuring strip (test strip) into the device and touch the drop of blood to the tip. In 5 seconds, the device is able to give the result, not necessarily needing to be connected to the iPhone at this time. A small LED screen shows the result instantly. When connecting to the iPhone (or iPod), data is transferred and added to the application, which will organize the reports.
Check out a video made by us during the event, explaining a little how the accessory works:
The only thing about the accessory is that, because it took so long for ANVISA to approve, it still has the old 30-pin connector (compatible with iPhone 4, 4S, 3GS, 3G, in addition to the first iPads up to the 3rd generation) and to work on newer devices with Lightning, an adapter is required. In addition, the application has not yet been adapted for iOS 7, despite working normally even in the iOS 8 beta.
We spoke with Sanofi representatives about the future HealthKit and Apple’s concern with integrating health accessories into iOS. They stated that the company is very interested in the news presented at WWDC and is already studying ways to integrate into the future system.
The accessory will go on sale in July, directly at the company’s online store (we will publish the link here on the Blog as soon as the store goes live), for the suggested price of R $ 250.00. The price impressed us, as it is almost the same practiced in the USA. The test strips will be sold for R $ 89.90 a package with 50 units.
