he Guardian RT system, approved for use by the FDA in August 2005, uses an infusion-set-like sensor to measure glucose in the interstitial fluid; providing a near constant record of a patient's blood sugar. The system can be worn 24-7, 365. It is fully programmable by the user and with a click of a button you can check your most recent BG reading at any time.
A transmitter tapped your body beams the data wirelessly to a pager sized monitor that can be worn on your belt or carried in a purse, brief case, or backpack. The system is not truly continuous: it takes a measurement every five minutes. This still gives you an incredible picture of what your blood sugar is doing throughout the day and night. And you might be surprised to find out where your blood sugar goes between finger sticks.
The goal of the system is two fold: to serve as an early warning system for both high and low blood glucose; and to provide nearly minute by minute data 24 hours per day to help plan therapy adjustments. It succeeds with flying colors on both fronts. The system is amazingly accurate. I took numerous finger sticks the first week using it, and found it to be dead-on most of the time. On my first night wearing the system it woke me up in the wee hours to warn me of a drop in blood sugar. The alarm allowed me to stop a 3:30 am hypoglycemia episode dead in its tracks.
The sensor guide needles are a little larger than most infusion sets, but insertion is painless and once in place you'd never know it was there. The transmitter, which looks on the large side when you first encounter it, is taped onto your skin near the sensor insertion site and is easy to wear day after day, night after night. I completely forget it is even there.
The only real weakness in the system is the PC software used for displaying and analyzing data downloaded from the monitor. While it provides some excellent graphs, is highly inflexible and does not allow the user to set the parameters of the data that is displayed.
I have no doubt that this system represents the future of glucose monitoring. Why would you want to know what your sugar is ten times per day, when you can know what it is virtually all of the time? I have no doubt that in 15 years most diabetics will use Guardian-type systems rather than the BG meters we use now. In 25 years, BG meters will seem as primitive as urine test strips seem today. But what is most amazing to me is that although this machine is first generation, it works so very, very well. The future is here, now. The Guardian truly does do what Medtronic says it can do. And I for one, am finally free from worry about my BG.
