DexCom Inc.'s STS-7 System: Seven-day Glucose Monitor, Approved by the FDA

Filed in archive Diabetics' Device on June 4, 2007

A device that measures glucose levels continuously for up to seven days in diabetics has recently been approved by the FDA.

While a standard fingerstick test records a person's glucose level as a snapshot in time, the STS-7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System measures glucose levels every five minutes throughout a seven-day period.

The FDA said that additional information can be used to track patterns in glucose levels throughout the week that wouldn't be captured by fingerstick measurements.

The said device - STS-7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System - is a product of a San Diego company DexCom Inc. that utilizes a disposable sensor placed just below the skin in the abdomen to measure the level of glucose in the fluid found in the body's tissues - then an alarm sounds off when a patient's glucose level reaches the pre-set lows or pre-set highs.

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