For quite some time now, there has been significant hype around the Dexcom G7, which received a CE mark in March. This week, as part of a global streaming launch event, Dexcom revealed how the product designers addressed common CGM user pain points to build a better device.

“The best consumer products are simple, approachable, usable, and useful,” said Apurv Kamath, senior VP of product and global marketing at Dexcom. “Just because we’re building a product to help manage diabetes doesn’t mean the experience should feel clinical.”

Many of the team members who worked on the Dexcom G7, including Alex Diener, senior director of global product design, understand the challenges of managing diabetes because they live with diabetes themselves.

“When we set out to design G7 it was a blank slate. The software and the hardware have all been reimagined,” Diener said.

Dexcom customers from around the world were part of the design process, he said. “We first sought to understand what people’s lives are like and then began crafting solutions that fit more naturally into them,” Kamath said. “It’s so much simpler. It’s the single wearable and an app.

Here are some of the specific pain points that the Dexcom G7 is designed to address:

There’s a grace period for changing the Dexcom sensor

Diener acknowledged that changing a CGM sensor can be a stressful time, especially for parents managing their child’s diabetes.

“Parents have had a difficult choice to make when a sensor has only three hours left and it’s time for their child to go to school,” he said. “Do you send your child to school, or do you swap the sensor out now and deal with two hours warm up time?”

To address this, the G7 CGM system offers a 12-hour grace period for changing a sensor to give Dexcom customers some flexibility.

“We want to make it easier to change sensors when it makes the most sense for you,” Kamath said.

Addressing alert fatigue

“Alerts still get your attention to help keep you in range, but they’re friendlier and more customizable,” Diener said. “We’re taking advantage of the capabilities of your phone and putting them to work in your CGM.”

Connectivity matters

“We know that connectivity is important because it gives you choice in managing your diabetes,” Diener said. “G7 is built to be the most connected Dexcom CGM ever. Over time, pumps, pens, and watches can all work with G7.”

Where is Dexcom G7 available?

With this week’s launch event (which can be viewed below), the Dexcom G7 is now available for people with diabetes age two years and older in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Hong Kong. This marks the first major milestone in the availability of the new system, the company noted.

In the coming weeks, Dexcom also plans to roll out G7 in New Zealand and South Africa. Additional market launches are expected to follow “soon after.”

Article source: MDDI