Medline Offers Advanced Blood Glucose Test Strips To Long-Term Care Market

MediSense Optium provides faster results with a smaller blood sample

Mundelein, IL - Medline Industries Inc., a privately held manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, is now providing advanced blood glucose test strips that will give faster results using a significantly smaller blood sample size.

The Centers for Disease Control reports more than 10.3 million Americans aged 60 or older have diabetes which accounts for nearly 21 percent of this age group. In addition, the CDC notes that in 2005 alone, 1.5 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in the United States.

"When you're talking about diabetes care, you're often talking about life and death. The CDC makes it clear that the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people without it at a similar age. Disease management is critical here, which is why we are so excited about offering MediSense Optium, manufactured by Abbott Diabetes Care," said Hunter Banks, president, Medline Preferred Healthcare Diagnostics division. "With faster results that require a smaller blood sample, MediSense Optium will become a crucial component in helping to manage and prevent complications. These benefits may be especially significant for the elderly, from whom obtaining blood can be very difficult and painful."

Unlike other test strips that may need a sample size of 3 microliters, the MediSense Optium strips need only a 0.6-microliter sample size. This is 80 percent less blood than required by other test strips. Other important features associated with these advanced strips include:

• fastest meter on the market with results in only 5 seconds;
  
• alternative site testing capability, which provides testing flexibility;
  
• end-fill/top-fill test strip design with visual confirmation to ensure the correct amount of blood each and every time;
  
• superior accuracy with its patented TrueMeasure technology.

MediSense Optium's patented TrueMeasure technology is able to screen out more than 60 common substances that may affect the results. In addition, the strip allows the application of a second drop of blood to further ensure accuracy.

SOURCE: Medline Industries Inc.