Medtronic pumps will soon link to Accu-Chek blood glucose meters via Bluetooth

Roche Diabetes Care today announced the creation of a new Bluetooth version of its Accu-Chek Guide blood glucose monitoring system (BGM), which will be integrated in some of Medtronic’s future insulin pumps.
The Accu-Chek Guide is one of the two next-generation BGMs Roche diagnostics is developing, along with the Accu-Chek Instant. The Accu-Chek Guide received FDA approval in the US in August 2016 but is not yet available in the UK.
Under the new partnership with Medtronic, Roche will design the wireless BGM, called Accu-Chek Guide Link with the newest Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology.
The BLE allows for low-energy connectivity to the associated Accu-Chek Connect diabetes management app and online portal.
This BLE-enabled Accu-Chek BGM is then meant to communicate with Medtronic’s future pumps. But, only pumps commercialised in markets covered by the agreement – which have not yet been revealed – will benefit from the enhanced capability.
Accu-Chek’s technology is thought to be a great addition to Medtronic’s systems. A study on new BGMs, published in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology last year, found that it provides consistent and fairly accurate blood glucose testing results.
The news of the integration of the Accu-Chek blood glucose meter into Medtronic pumps comes after Roche Diagnostics was reportedly contemplating limiting its involvement in the diabetes sector.
It seems like Roche is actually doing the opposite now, as it is in the process of making a series of strategic partnerships to expand the functionality of its blood glucose meters and promote their wider use.
Roche has, for example, also recently teamed up with the mySugr app to allow users to upload their blood glucose data from either the Accu-Chek Guide or Instant blood glucose meters.