Dexcom G5 Mobile Android App Gets FDA Approval
Editor’s Note: As of June 11, 2018, the Dexcom G5 is the first mobile-enabled continuous glucose system approved for Medicare patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The United States Food and Drug Administration this week approved Dexcom’s G5 Mobile app for Android devices. With federal approval in hand, U.S. Android users with type 1 diabetes (T1D) will soon be able to join iOS users in monitoring their blood glucose levels in real time on their phones.
“Providing Android users with access to the Dexcom G5 Mobile Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) System has been a priority,” said Dexcom President and CEO Kevin Sayer. “The new Android app has been thoughtfully designed with customer needs and feedback in mind. It focuses on delivering technology that empowers users by putting critical blood glucose information on their phones.”
Advancements in CGM technology have been myriad over the past several years, but Dexcom’s system is the first continuous glucose monitor compatible with a smart device. The app works in tandem with the company’s G5 Mobile CGM System, passing blood data from a sensor inserted under the skin to a handheld monitor, or, now, to a user’s smart phone.
Convenience is the app’s main selling point. Users receive real-time blood glucose data on their phones, as opposed to a separate monitor, in an age when most people are tightly connected to their mobile devices.
But while live blood glucose level (BGL) data is crucial, the ease with which users can identify trends is perhaps just as important. Providing easy-to-access data over long durations of time, the app makes it fairly seamless for T1D patients to spot patterns, a key feature in preventative care. Maybe you spike at a certain time of day every day. Perhaps you bottom out after a specific activity. What do your blood glucose levels really do at night while you’re sleeping?
Additionally, Dexcom’s Share feature, which is built in to the app, allows users to share their medical data with friends, family members, caregivers and medical professionals at will.
With FDA-approval secured, the company plans to start making the app available on the United States market to Android users starting with several devices from Samsung, Motorola and LG, as well as Android Wear watches.
Prior to this week’s approval announcement, the G5 Mobile app had been available to iOS users in the United States and Canada, and to iOS and Android users in Austria, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Czech Republic and Spain.
Read The Power of the CGM.
