The accuracy of the GlucoWatch G2 biographer in children with type 1 diabetes: results of the diabetes research in children network (DirecNet) accuracy study

Abstract

The accuracy of the GlucoWatch G2 Biographer (GW2B; Cygnus, Inc., Redwood City, CA) was assessed in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). During a 24-h clinical research center stay, 89 children and adolescents with T1DM (3.5-17.7 years old) wore 174 GW2Bs and had frequent serum glucose determinations during the day and night and during insulin-induced hypoglycemia and meal-induced hyperglycemia, resulting in 3672 GW2B-reference glucose pairs. The median relative absolute difference between the GW2B and reference glucose values was 16% (25th, 75th percentiles = 7%, 29%). The proposed International Organisation for Standardisation criteria were met for 60% of sensor values. Accuracy was better at higher serum glucose levels than low glucose levels. Accuracy degraded slightly as the sensor aged. Time of day, subject age, gender, or body mass index did not impact GW2B accuracy. There were no cases of serious skin reactions. Although the accuracy of this generation of sensor does not approach that of current home glucose meters, the majority of sensor glucose values are within 20% of the serum glucose. This level of accuracy may be sufficient for detecting trends and modifying diabetes management. Further longitudinal outpatient studies are needed to assess the utility of the GW2B as a management tool to improve glycemic control and decrease the incidence of severe hypoglycemia in children with diabetes.