Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Background

Continuous glucose monitoring devices provide a way for patients to approximate their blood glucose by testing the interstitial fluid via the chemical reaction of fluorescence, every 1 to 5 minutes, with minimal “fingerstick” point-of-care glucose testing. These devices are frequently referred to by the abbreviation “CGMs.” There are two major types of CGMs called “real-time CGMs” or “intermittently scanning CGMs.” The major difference between the two is related to how the data is transmitted between the sensor and receiver. The real-time CGMs automatically send glucose data to the receiver, allowing alerts to automatically be set for hyper- and hypoglycemia. Intermittently scanning CGMs require the patient to manually place the reading device near the sensor in order to receive glucose data, so no automatic alerts or alarms can be set.