How does the FreeStyle Libre System work?

Abbott's FreeStyle Libre system measures glucose levels through a small sensor applied to the back of your upper arm. The sensor, which is the size of two stacked quarters, provides real-time glucose readings for up to 10 days, both day and night3. The sensor can also read glucose levels through clothes4, making testing discreet and convenient.

The FreeStyle Libre system provides people with diabetes three key pieces of data with each scan: a real-time glucose result, an 8-hour historical trend, and a trend arrow showing the direction their glucose is going. The touch-screen reader holds up to 90 days of data, which allows people to track their glucose levels over time.

Across the globe, more than 400,000 people5 are now using the FreeStyle Libre and the system has been clinically proven to be accurate, stable, and consistent6.

How does the FreeStyle Libre System help?

The data generated by the FreeStyle Libre system is designed to provide actionable trends and patterns that help people make better decisions about their health such as adjustments to their diet or how much insulin they need to take7. Studies show that FreeStyle Libre users who scan more frequently spend less time in hypoglycemia, while experiencing improved average glucose levels8,9 . According to the study8 that was published in The Lancet, people using the FreeStyle Libre system spent 38 percent less time within hypoglycemia as compared with those who managed their glucose with traditional self-monitoring glucose system.

By tracking and monitoring glucose continuously, the FreeStyle Libre system helps people and their health care providers to better adjust their lifestyle, diet and treatment to suit their needs. For example, the reader's snapshots can reveal if a person is experiencing hypoglycemic (low glucose levels) patterns or hyperglycemic trends (high glucose levels), which can aid in choosing the right diabetes management1.

Want to Learn More?

Go here to learn more about the FreeStyle Libre system.

References:

¹Fingersticks are required for treatment decisions when you see Check Blood Glucose symbol, when symptoms do not match system readings, when you suspect readings may be inaccurate, or when you experience symptoms that may be due to high or low blood glucose
²American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/?referrer=https://www.google.com/
³Based on the sensor being replaced once every 10 days, and scanned at least once every 8 hours
⁴The reader can capture data from the sensor when it is within 1cm to 4cm of the sensor
⁵Data on File. Abbott Diabetes Care.
⁶FreeStyle Libre User Manual.
⁷Fingersticks are required for treatment decisions when you see Check Blood Glucose symbol, when symptoms do not match system readings, when you suspect readings may be inaccurate, or when you experience symptoms that may be due to high or low blood glucose
⁸Bolinder, Jan, et al. Novel glucose-sensing technology and hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes: a multicentre, non-masked, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet 388.10057 (2016): 2254-2263
⁹Haak, Thomas, et al. Flash glucose-sensing technology as a replacement for blood glucose monitoring for the management of insulin-treated type 2 diabetes: a multicenter, open-label randomized controlled trial. Diabetes Therapy 8.1 (2017): 55-73