Blood glucose monitoring device

A glucose meter, also called a "glucometer", is a medical device that gives an approximate reading of the glucose concentration in the blood. The term can also cover a strip of glucose paper that is dipped into a substance and then compared against a glucose chart. The meter is a key part of glucose testing, including home blood glucose monitoring (HBGM) done by people with diabetes mellitus or hypoglycemia. To use it, you prick a fingertip lightly with a lancet and place a small drop of blood on a disposable test strip. The meter reads the strip, calculates the blood glucose level and shows it in mg/dL or mmol/L. Since approximately 1980, a main goal in managing type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus has been to keep blood glucose closer to normal for as much of the time as possible, guided by HBGM several times a day. The benefits are a lower occurrence rate and less severity of long-term complications from hyperglycemia, and also fewer of the short-term, potentially life-threatening complications of hypoglycemia.