Abstract
Successful treatment of type 1 diabetes (DM1) requires precise insulin dosing and reliable techniques of glucose monitoring. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), flash glucose monitoring (FGM) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) can be used for day-to-day monitoring.
The basis of CGM and FGM is glycemic sensors inserted into subcutaneous tissue. CGM automatically informs the patient about glycemia development at approximately five-minute intervals.
With FGM, the patient is informed only after placing the receiver in close proximity to the sensor. The accuracy of both CGM and FGM measurements has improved signicantly and has been comparable in recent years to the accuracy of high- quality glucometers.
Improved sensor quality makes CGM and FGM independent of glucometers, and means CGM accuracy is no longer an obstacle to constructing a closed loop system. So far, the major obstacle to the widespread use of CGM and FGM is the higher cost.
The following text provides an overview of the findings on CGM and FGM in patients with DM1, both of which can be expected to be widely adopted in the near future.