Johnson and Johnson announces ‘personal style’ for blood glucose monitoring

In a move designed to encourage diabetes sufferers to test their blood glucose levels on a more regular basis, Johnson & Johnson company LifeScan is promoting four new colours of its OneTouch UltraMini monitoring systems.

Patients eager to get their hands on the pocket-sized blood glucose monitors can enter a sweepstake from the firm online which runs until November 30th 2007, with 10,000 of the monitors available in the original colour of Silver Moon, in addition to Limelight, Pink Glow and Jet Black.

The introduction of these new colours aims to make glucose testing less clinical for users and more of a personal experience.

Steven Edelman, clinical professor at the University of California and founder of the non-profit organisation Taking Control of Your Diabetes, said: “Many of my patients feel self-conscious about testing in public.”

He added that a fashionable and small device such as the OneTouch UltraMini may help patients be more open about their condition and encourage more frequent self-testing of blood glucose levels.

In April 2007, Abbott launched its FreeStyle lite blood glucose monitoring system that uses automatic calibration to abolish the need for manual coding required by many similar available products.