FDA approves Arkray's new glucose monitoring system

EDINA, Minn. A manufacturer of diabetes self-monitoring systems announced that it received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its new Glucocard Vital blood glucose monitoring system.

Arkray said its new meter and strip platform, which will be available for distribution in early December, is expected to be a significant complement to the existing Glucocard line of products, and will be ideal for the home medical equipment, durable medical equipment, mail-order and managed care markets.

"We're very excited about the latest addition to our Glucocard brand," said Jonathan Chapman, president of Arkray USA. "The Vital meets all of Arkray's rigorous design and performance standards. And we can offer it at a price point that will make it an ideal solution for our customers to use in competitive bidding."

The new Glucocard Vital meter and strip platform is highly accurate, auto-coded, requires only 0.5 microliter of blood, holds 250 dowloadable tests in its memory and has a glucose oxydase strip chemistry that is not affected by interferences that cause testing errors in other common test strips.

The Vital, along with all Glucocard brands, is backed by Arkray's unique YouChoose wellness program, a comprehensive education and support system that includes printed tools, videos, recipes and an integrated Web site designed to help patients manage their diabetes.