The best blood glucose meter today - Accu-Chek, OneTouch or Contour?

The convenience of a glucometer used at home is largely determined not only by its direct functionality, but also by a number of other characteristics.

As can be seen from the table, the compared glucometers have approximately similar dimensions, a difference of 1-2 cm in length or width is unlikely to play a significant role for any of the buyers. The same can be said about the weight, which averages 50-60 grams. If we talk about batteries, then 3-volt lithium CR2032 is suitable for all devices, but only Contour Plus will need 2 pieces to work, and the rest will need one.

The weakest package is with the Contour TS glucometer, the best with Accu-Chek Active and OneTouch Select Plus Flex, which even include 10 test strips.But the Contour Plus, although it is equipped with an average, is sold together with a tip that allows you to take blood not only from a finger, but also from other places, which may be relevant for home use.

One of the differences between glucometers is the different methods of measuring glucose levels. More modern devices use electrochemical technology, previous generation models use photometric technology. The difference for the user is only in how much blood the device will require for analysis. With the electrochemical method, a very small drop is needed, with the photometric blood, a little more is needed. From the point of view of the accuracy of the results, provided that the procedure is performed correctly, there should be no difference.

Of the compared glucometers for home, only Accu-Chek Active works using the photometric method, the rest use the electrochemical method, which means they can be considered more modern and gentle. The need for coding is another point that you should pay attention to before buying a glucometer.The models participating in the comparison do not require coding, they are configured to use test strips in automatic mode, which greatly simplifies working with them.

Each device requires a different amount of blood to test for glucose. The most "bloodthirsty" of those participating in the comparison was Accu-Chek Active, the most "economical" models from the Kontur brand. On the one hand, a difference of 1-1.4 µl is not so significant, but on the other hand, if the analysis is to be done several times a day, this will already be noticeable. In terms of the speed of obtaining a result, all the compared glucometers for home are quite fast, after blood hits the test strip, the glucose level will appear on the monitor in 5 seconds.

The memory function in the glucometer is useful for those who do not want to keep a paper diary of observations in the old fashioned way or independently transfer the data to any electronic media.If the habit developed over the years to enter all the results of analyzes in a notebook has been preserved, then you can not worry about the number of measurements saved by the device.

Glucometers from Accu-Chek and Van Touch Select have the most capacious memory, slightly inferior to them Contour Plus. But Kontur TS has the shortest memory, only 250 measurements.

Glucometers available for purchase today have different options for calibrating the result - by blood or by plasma. The first show the level of glucose in the blood, the second in the plasma. Plasma calibration is more typical for devices manufactured in the USA and most of Europe, where a similar measurement system is used. In Russia, it is customary to calculate the level of glucose in the blood.

The measurement accuracy of the device does not depend on the type of its calibration. For an objective assessment of the results, you only need to know the norms. When using a device calibrated for blood, the upper limit of normal is 5.5 units, for plasma - 6.1 units. For a more accurate understanding, it is worth consulting with your doctor and discussing with him the features of the purchased glucometer.

Because all of the glucometers in the comparison are manufactured overseas, they are plasma calibrated. It's not bad by any means, but it can be a little uncomfortable and unfamiliar, especially the first time you use it.

Additional functions of glucometers are not necessary for all users. They will definitely be superfluous for elderly patients, for whom it is only important to take a measurement here and now, but others may come in handy. Accu-Chek Active is one of the simplest blood glucose meters. He performs his main tasks qualitatively, has a good memory, is able to calculate the average result for 7, 14, 30 and 90 days, and that's it. The description of the Accu-Chek device contains information about the possibility of transferring data via micro-USB to a computer, but next to it it is indicated that the option is not available due to lack of software.

OneTouch Select Plus Flex attracts, first of all, with the presence of a colored scale under the display, which will help in the interpretation of the analysis results. The arrow on the screen will point to a blue, green, or red segment indicating low, normal, or high glucose levels. This indication is used in addition to the digital designation of the results. The model has the ability to change the upper and lower limits of the target range, which can be adjusted in accordance with the individual characteristics of each patient. Using BLUETOOTH Smart or a USB wired connection, the meter is able to transfer data to a smartphone that has been pre-installed with special software. This will allow you to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the results of the analyzes, view graphs, and note trends.

Contour TS is unlikely to surprise with advanced functionality. The abbreviation TS in its name stands for Absolute Simplicity and it really is. It has a memory of only 250 measurements, which is not too much, but in most cases it is quite enough. An interesting feature of the model is the underfill detection function.If there is too little blood on the test strip, the device will report this with a special indication, you will need to bring it to the blood drop again. The glucometer has a port for connecting to a PC, but there is no cable included, and the instructions do not say anything about this possibility. In the reviews of customers who contacted the hotline on this issue, there is information about the unavailability of software for Russia.

Contour Plus offers perhaps the largest set of additional options. So another glucometer from the Kontur brand, it gives a signal in case of underfilling of the test strip, which is very convenient. The device can operate in two modes. The main one is simpler and more understandable. It can calculate averages for 14 days, view data on low and high values ​​for 7 days. In advanced mode, it is possible to set reminders about the need to take measurements 2.5-1 hour after eating. The averages in it are calculated for 7, 14 and 30 days. When conducting an analysis, you can set the label "Before a meal" or "After a meal", set up personal boundaries for high and low values.

When comparing additional functionality, the Contour Plus glucometer is definitely the most advanced today. But the OneTouch Select Plus Flex model attracts with the ability to transfer data to a smartphone via BLUETOOTH Smart for analysis using a mobile application.

Information about the cost of glucometers and test strips for them is taken from the pages of Yandex.Market and the offers of the stores presented there. It can be noted that the prices for all compared devices are relatively low and affordable for most buyers. Yet the cheapest was the Contour TS, the most expensive OneTouch Select Plus Flex.

Prices for test strips for sugar control, we specifically presented not as an average value, but as a range, since their cost sometimes varies greatly depending on the place of purchase. Based on the data collected, it turns out that test strips for Accu-Chek Active will cost the most, the price of which sometimes reaches 30 rubles apiece. The cheapest consumables for the Contour TS today are, but in general it is difficult to call them affordable, especially against the background of Russian counterparts.

To determine the most popular glucometer, we looked at the number of reviews, as well as ratings on the Yandex.Market, Otzovik and IRecommend sites. To analyze the popularity, the number of user requests in the Yandex search engine was additionally taken into account.

In terms of the number of reviews and the interest of users of search networks, the Accu-Chek Active glucometer becomes the undisputed leader. But it received lower ratings than other devices, although in general 4.32 points is very good and worthy. Claims in customer reviews are standard. Many people talk about the high cost of test strips. There are also often opinions that a fairly large drop of blood is needed.

The leader in the ratings in the reviews is the glucometer Kontur Plus. There are relatively few statements about him, although people are actively looking for information in search engines. Customers are satisfied with the functionality of the device, speak about the high accuracy of measurements, and complain about the cost of test strips.

The lowest customer ratings to date are for the Kontur TS glucometer, which is in third place in terms of the number of requests and second in terms of the number of reviews. There are opinions about the insufficient accuracy of the results of sugar control and the standard claim is that consumables are too expensive.

Van Touch Select Plus Flex is the second most rated, but the most unpopular, judging by the number of reviews and requests. There are few complaints about it, mainly only in terms of the cost of test strips.

It is quite obvious that ideal devices do not exist, you can find fault with everyone, and users make individual requirements regarding quality and functionality. This is exactly what the results of our comparison showed.

The winner of the comparison is the Contour Plus glucometer, which received the highest average score and became the leader in five categories. It has an optimal set of basic and additional options for home use, a fairly impressive amount of memory (although not the largest), and requires a minimum amount of blood for analysis. His victory is well deserved also due to the fact that this particular device became the leader according to customer ratings in the People's Rating category.

Also in five nominations, but with a smaller number of points, OneTouch Select Plus Flex wins. This model is not the most popular on the market, but it has very worthy characteristics, including the ability to use it in combination with a mobile application in a smartphone.

Accu-Chek Active and Contour TS are simple and easy to use blood glucose meters. They did not become leaders, but they lag behind them slightly, on the whole being worthy representatives of their class and having their own advantages.