Released on: April 8, 2008, 3:49 am

Press Release Author: Rishu@the-practice.net

Industry:

Press Release Summary:
Glucocard 01 will enhance confidence in diabetes self-care technology due to high
accuracy and precision


Press Release Body: Arkray Inc., a Japan-based innovator company, makers of the
world's first-ever diabetes self-monitoring device and specialists in diabetes care
and diagnostics, in partnership with Piramal Healthcare, has recently launched
Glucocard 01, a highly advanced glucometer.

Glucocard 01 offers a high level of accuracy and precision in the self-monitoring of
blood glucose due to the use of sophisticated and unique biosensor technology. In
addition, Glucocard 01 ensures a virtually pain-free testing experience for the
diabetic patient.
Biosensor technology is accepted as being superior, since its accuracy and precision
are far greater than obtained with photometer technology, which is commonly used in
other glucometers.

"Our commitment towards diabetes care goes back to 1970, when we developed the
world's first self-monitoring blood glucose meter (Eyetone). Since then,
self-management of blood glucose has come a long way. One of the key barriers to
self-monitoring that still remains is the lack of confidence in self-care
technology. We are continually committed to developing products that improve the
quality of life of diabetes patients. Glucocard 01 is a significant step in this
direction. Glucocard 01 offers a high level of accuracy and precision and hence will
provide better self-monitoring options to the patients," said Mr. Hidehiro Itokawa,
Chairman , Arkray Piramal Medical Pvt. Ltd.

In photometric technology, used in traditional glucometers, the enzyme on the strip
reacts with the glucose in the blood to produce a colour, which is read by the
meter. In biosensor technology, as is used in Glucocard 01, the glucose in the blood
reacts with the enzyme on the strip to produce a current, which can be measured by
the meter. Measuring the current provides superior accuracy in comparison to
measuring colour intensity, which can in turn be affected by temperature and light
variation.

Glucocard 01 uses a unique combination of a Ruthenium-based mediator and thin film,
carbon-coated electrodes, which makes the testing strips (all glucometers require
disposable testing strips) free from temperature and humidity interference, thus
ensuring accurate and precise results. In addition, the new glucometer provides
automatic calibration (minimising chances of manual errors) and a temperature
compensation mechanism (using an in-built thermistor). As the blood sample required
for testing is minimal (0.3 microlitres) for Glucocard 01, this ensures a virtually
error-free and pain-free testing experience for the patient.

With a diabetic population of more than 40 million, India is on its way to becoming
the diabetes capital of the world. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is a very
important aspect of diabetes self-care. If not closely monitored, high blood glucose
can lead to serious complications, such as heart disease, strokes, kidney damage and
sight loss. However, the concept of SMBG is not yet established very well in India,
with only 0.3% of diabetics using self-monitoring blood glucose devices as compared
to 33% in the US. The use of glucometers can provide up-to-date information on blood
glucose patterns over a period of time. The blood glucose system market in India is
estimated to be more than Rs 1 billion in size and is estimated to be growing at
around 20%.

Glucocard 01 is available at pharmacies across the country. It can also be procured
by dialling the Customer Service number (022 - 3204 3204), emailing
customersupport@arkraypiramal.


Web Site:

Contact Details: Rishu Sharma
rishu@the-practice.net