Abbott FreeStyle Lite glucose monitor OK'd

ALAMEDA, Calif., April 16 (UPI) -- Abbott said Monday its FreeStyle Lite blood glucose monitoring system has been approved for the U.S. market.

The system eliminates the manual coding step usually required by blood glucose meters before starting a new vial of test strips, which allows patients to get test results in an average of five seconds, the company said.

"FreeStyle Lite is a welcome new tool for diabetes self-management," said Jane Jeffrie Seley, a diabetes nurse practitioner with New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Centerm, in a statement issued by Abbott.

"The small sample size and automatic calibration makes it easier for patients to test quickly, comfortably and accurately."