Technology & Innovation

How capillary action draws a drop of blood into a glucose test strip's narrow chamber, and why that chamber's size sets the minimum sample volume. The...

Counterfeit strips, pre-owned or unauthorized strips, and FDA-cleared third-party generics are three different things that can all end up in a brand-n...

The choice of enzyme in diabetic test strips, **Glucose Oxidase (GOx)** versus **Glucose Dehydrogenase (GDH)**, is a trade-off between sugar specifici...

Hematocrit (Hct) and chemical interferences are two of the main threats to the accuracy of electrochemical glucose test strips. **Hematocrit bias** ru...

The manufacturing of diabetic test strips is divided between **Screen Printing (Thick Film)** and **Laser Ablation (Thin Film)**. **Screen Printing*...

Direct electron transfer (DET) glucose biosensors, often called 3rd gen sensors, let the enzyme pass electrons straight to the electrode without oxyge...

Electrode manufacturing for diabetic test strips relies on two main methods: **Thick Film (Screen Printing)** and **Thin Film (Laser Ablation)**. **...

Test strips use one of two enzyme families, glucose oxidase (GOx) or glucose dehydrogenase (GDH). GOx readings can shift with the oxygen in a blood sa...

The enzyme chemistry on a diabetic test strip decides how the strip handles **Oxygen** in the blood sample and **Non-Glucose Sugars**. 1. **Glucose ...

ISO 15197:2013 tightened the accuracy limits for blood glucose meters and test strips and added testing across strip lots and for interfering substanc...

The manufacturing of diabetic test strips is built around two electrode technologies: **Screen Printing** (carbon-based conductive inks, the low-cost ...

Mediator chemistry in diabetic test strips compared: ferrocene, osmium and ruthenium mediators, plus ferricyanide, the most common mediator in commerc...

Lot-to-lot variability is the difference in readings between manufacturing batches of the same test strip, and post-market surveillance is how meters ...

Diabetic test strip electrodes are made mainly in two ways: **Screen-Printing (Thick Film)** and **Laser Ablation (Thin Film)**. **Screen-Printing**...

Counterfeit diabetic test strips have reached U.S. drugstores, so protection rests on packaging features a buyer can inspect and on FDA Unique Device ...

Test strip manufacturing has two well-documented ways to make a strip's electrodes: screen printing conductive ink, or laser ablation of a thin metal ...

The 'razor and blade' business model sells a base product cheaply and earns on the refills, and in MedTech the blood glucose meter and its test strips...

CGM sensor fabrication is harder than making disposable test strips, because a CGM sensor has to read accurately inside the body for days to weeks. Ke...

The comparison between **Blood Glucose Monitoring (BGM)** strips and **Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)** starts with the fluid each one measures: ...

Digital health integration is how blood glucose meters send test strip results to other systems. Hospital meters use the POCT1-A connectivity standard...

The working electrode of a blood glucose test strip is usually made from screen-printed carbon (thick film) or from thin films of noble metals such as...

Strip labeling treats used test strips as medical waste and the lancets used with them are sharps, so recycling options for test strips are limited. T...

The environmental impact of disposable diabetic test strips comes from sheer volume: the IDF Diabetes Atlas (10th edition) estimated that 537 million ...

Test strip accuracy depends on environmental stability: heat and humidity wear down the enzyme and mediator chemistry on every strip, and packaging en...

Hematocrit interference happens because red blood cells slow diffusion in a test strip, thicken the sample and hold less glucose than plasma, which ca...

Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) now makes up most of Abbott's diabetes sales and is used by most people with type 1 diabetes, but Blood Glucose Mo...

How continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors are manufactured, including the electrochemical and optical sensing technologies they use, sterilizati...

Mediator chemistries carry electrons from the enzyme to the electrode in diabetic test strips. We compare ferrocene, osmium and ruthenium mediators wi...

Near-Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range radio link found in a few FDA-cleared Blood Glucose Monitoring (BGM) meters and in FreeStyle Libre rea...

Non-Invasive Glucose Sensing (NIGS) aims to replace fingerstick test strips and under-the-skin CGM filaments with sensors that measure glucose without...

Signal processing in glucometers covers the software steps between a drop of blood and a number: safety gating that rejects short or used samples, AC ...

Alternative Site Testing (AST) lets people measure blood glucose from the forearm or palm, where lancing usually hurts less than at the fingertips. It...

Closed-loop control (CLC) algorithms, the software behind artificial pancreas systems, use continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data to adjust insulin ...

Connected glucometers send test strip readings to phones using **Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)**, while **Near Field Communication (NFC)** plays a smalle...

Most electrochemical diabetic test strips use one of two detection methods: amperometry or coulometry. Amperometry, used in LifeScan's OneTouch Verio ...

How meter and test strip systems such as Roche's Accu-Chek and LifeScan's OneTouch create digital lock-ins and data silos for people who use diabetic ...

Diabetic test strip electrodes are built mainly with **Screen Printed Carbon (Thick-Film)** or **Sputtered Gold (Thin-Film)** technology. **Carbon P...

Diabetic test strips turn glucose into an electrical signal, and mainstream strips rely on **Enzymatic Sensors** built on **Glucose Oxidase (GOx)** or...

Enzyme engineering and stability in diabetic test strips: how protein engineers build sturdier glucose enzymes, how strip makers protect them with ext...

The **Foreign Body Response (FBR)** is the body's reaction to anything implanted under the skin, and it is a main reason Continuous Glucose Monitors (...

Automated insulin delivery (AID) systems integrate a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) with an insulin pump, but blood glucose meters (BGM) and test st...

Minimally Invasive Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) measure glucose in **interstitial fluid (ISF)** through a thin filament under the skin rather th...

Multi-analyte test strips and systems measure more than one substance, such as glucose and ketones. Some urine strips, like Roche's Chemstrip 10 MD an...

Multi-analyte test strip systems use one meter to read a glucose strip and a separate **β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB)** ketone strip, which helps with earl...

Non-invasive glucose monitoring technologies aim to measure glucose without a fingerstick or a sensor in the skin, but as of October 2026 the FDA has ...

Over-the-counter (OTC) biosensors for metabolic health include fingerstick blood glucose meters, sold for home use without a prescription for decades,...

SaMD stands for Software as a Medical Device: the FDA regulates medical software functions by what they do, including smartphone apps used with a bloo...

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) changed how some diabetic test strips are paid for: in RPM programs and employer-paid subscriptions, the strip is a pr...

How blood glucose meters use AC impedance and multi-pulse technology alongside the direct-current glucose measurement. A short alternating-current sig...

Automated insulin delivery (AID) systems integrate an insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and dosing software, yet each current US system...

Electrochemical interference in blood glucose monitoring (BGM) happens when physical properties of the blood or non-glucose substances change the elec...

The Eversense system by Senseonics is an implantable CGM that measures glucose with optical fluorescence, and as of October 2026 its current Eversense...

Multi-analyte strip chemistry gives each substance its own enzyme and signal path, such as glucose dehydrogenase and hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase wit...

Test strip sensor chemistry in plain terms: how enzymes such as glucose oxidase and glucose dehydrogenase react with blood glucose, and how mediators ...

How the supply chain for diabetes consumables such as test strips and CGM sensors works, from factory to pharmacy, and what recalls, discontinuations ...

Supply chain resilience in diabetic test strip manufacturing turns on two things ordinary electronics don't have: a **biological enzyme** (GDH or GOx)...

Wired enzyme technology connects glucose oxidase to an electrode through a crosslinked osmium redox polymer; it began in academic work at the Universi...