Use

• Blood glucose level is measured by obtaining a small drop of blood via pricking the skin and placed on a test strip so that the meter can read it. Glucometers display levels in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), a standard used in the United States. The rest of the world uses the millimoles per liter standard (mmol/l).
  
  

Invention (1960s)

• The glucometer traces its origin to 1965, when the Ames Company marketed paper strips called Dextrostix--an invention of Ernie Adams--to physicians. To use Dextrostix, your applied a drop of blood to the paper strip and waited for one minute before washing it off. The color the blood leaves behind is then measured against a color chart, which ultimately gives the person an approximation of the level of glucose in the blood. However, Dextrostix usability was limited in that blood glucose levels were often interpreted as either of two extremes: very high or very low. Moreover, they were not particularly designed for patients; it was for doctors to use in their medical practices.
  
  

Going Commercial (1970s to 1980s)

• In 1970, Ames scientist Anton H. Clemens, developed a reflectance meter called the Ames Reflectance Meter that could be reflected on the blue color on Dextrostix strips to give a wider measurement range. At the same time, a Japanese firm named Kyoto Daiichi decided to help Ames adopt Dextrostix for wider use by making them smaller and lighter--and ended up developing the Eyetone in 1972. With these inventions, the glucometer had evolved from paper strips to an instrument.
  
  For the rest of the decade, glucometers penetrated the mainstream. Leading the charge was pioneer Ames, which released the Glucometer in 1975, thus coming up with the generic name that would be applied to blood glucose meters. In 1979, Ames introduced the Dextrometer in 1979, the first meter available without a prescription.
  
  

Further Improvements (1980s to 1990s)

• In the early 1990s, MediSense, now owned by Abbott Laboratories, introduced electro-chemical readings or biosensors, which were supposed to make glucometers more accurate. This is done by turning biochemical reactions into electrical signals.
  
  

Today (2000s to Present)

• Today, there are several brands of glucometers available to the public. They include Ascensia by Ames, now known as Bayer (this device is the successor of the Glucometer), One Touch by LifeScan, Accu Check by Roche and FreeStyle by Abbott Laboratories.