AlphaTrak meter...need to recalibrate?

I have had an AlphaTrak meter since fall 2014 and recently got a new bottle of test strips. I've been using them for a couple of weeks, then today I saw the "code" numbers on the bottle and wondered if they are the same on all bottles of test strips or do they vary? And do I need to recalibrate the meter when I get a new bottle of test strips?

I just know that when I put the strip in the meter, I just wait till it says "39" and then I know I'm good to go. Even after rereading the directions I can't figure out if I'm supposed to recalibrate it at some point. I hope not, because my control solution is well beyond 3 months old and I'm not sure where I'd get new without purchasing another meter.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

If you have the Alpha Trak 2 meter then you change the coding to match the code on the strips. Quite often it is the same code over and over, but it is always good to check. If you have the older Alpha Trak meter and you are using the Alpha Trak 2 test strips then you code it for "7" if I remember correctly. Also if you have test solution it is always good to do a control test and make sure the numbers fall within the range listed on the test strips vial.

EDITED TO ADD: Test solution can last past the 4 month time they state if it is stored properly

 

Ugh, I no longer have the old bottle so I don't know if the code is the same or not. My current bottle says 93 for cat. It seems like a terrible idea to have to reset the meter every time you get a new bottle of strips. I can't even figure out how to reset the thing now that's it's calibrated for the old bottle.

 

I found this old thread
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/help-calibrating-alphatrak-2.122418/
and it does seem like I need to recalibrate, and now I guess I can't trust any of the numbers I've been getting the past few weeks. And I just started a new bottle of insulin and am getting very different numbers! Of course this sort of things always happens on a weekend when my vet won't be available till Tuesday.

 

If the meter says "39" when you put a strip in then that is the coding it is set for. Is your new bottle "93" or "39"?? I wasn't sure if it was a different number of a typo.

 

The meter says 39 when I put a strip it. That is probably what the old bottle said for cat. The new bottle says 93 for cat. Not a typo...different number. Sigh. I wonder how inaccurate it is?

 

To recalibrate your meter...put the strip in and as soon as the the "39" show you press the "M" or "C" button to change the number up or down. Once you reach the number you want you just leave it and it will stay at that number

 

Thanks for the info. Do I then need to use the control solution (which is 10 months old)?

 

Then I would also try a control solution test. If it is 3 months old it should hopefully still be good. I have used the control solution as long as 8 months.

Opps you posted as I was posting. I would still try it even if it is 10 months old. If it comes up within the range shown on the bottle then you should be fine. Otherwise, if you have another non-diabetic cat...or a friend who will let you "use" theirs, you can do a test on them.

 

OK...I just changed the code from 39 to 93 so it would match the code on the bottle for cat. Then I tested with my old solution. It says 149 md/dL which is within normal range. For the sake of trying it, I'm tempted to test my non-diabetic cat, too.

Your help has been invaluable! Thank you so much.

 

Glad I was able to help...good thing there are some of us on here that use Alpha Trak meters

 

I just got a new bottle of strips 5 days ago. The new bottle is coded 37. The previous was 38. So it does change.

 

I use the AT2 meter, but I use Freestyle Lite strips. No recoding. The strips are made by Abbott Labs, they also make the AT. They cost half what AT strips cost and the numbers run VERY close. My vet did his own research and comparisons, he now recommends them to his other patients.

 

I do as well, but I didn't want to "cloud" the question. But you are so correct, that with the FS Lite strips you do not have to worry about coding. I use the AT2 test solution every few vials of test strips to compare and they have been right in the range.
Also I did a glucose test with the AT2 meter with FS Lite strips when I had Tuxie at the vet. I did it right before they were drawing blood for CBC. My reading was 13.9 mmol/l and the machine came back with 15.1 mmol/l...so good enough for me.

 

Now I'm on to another vial of test strips, and a new code. My control solution is now 11 months old and I don't think it works anymore...I got 70 as the number when I tried it instead of the range I'm supposed to get. I decided the best test I would get was to stab Sketch again with the new strips. So the test I got with the last of the old strips was 284 and 20 min later I got 329 with the new strips. It was getting close to shot time and he'd just eaten so I'm thinking that is probably not too bad. I suppose I should order more control solution though for next time.

 

I never used the control solution. I thought I read somewhere ( maybe on the bottle?). Not to use it on animal blood. I might have to check that out ...

But the Freestyle lite strips work perfectly in the AT 2 meter, if you're using them, set the code at 7 or 36. I read that somewhere too, can't remember where tho. I'm gonna have to start writing that stuff down. Lol

 

So if I switch to freestyle lite, what code should be put in the meter?

 

Either 7 or 36 was what I read somewhere. I did that then re-tested with the same blood sample with an AT strip and was one point different.

 

do you remember if you used 7 or 36?

 

has anyone noticed that if you put too much neosporin on the ear, the meter doesn't work? I have to throw out so many test strips due to this- or maybe it's just me

 

I set it on 36 and I test on the paw pads as I never had much luck with the ears.

 

I've never put neosporin on the ears. Just apply pressure with a tissue. Have never had any issue with infection. Cats clean themselves with saliva and that seems to do the trick

 

Only use a tiny bit and wipe off well before testing. Otherwise, it will clog the test strip.

 

FYI ..I know little since I am new to the forum. However, ABBOTT SOLD ALPHATRAK. I just spoke with them and called the new company. At first, AlphaTrak rep "wasn't sure" but thought Abbott sold the company. She finally gave me the phone number to the new company..strange name that I could barely understand. However, after telling her that the burden placed on pet owners is ridculous and that most experienced dog/cat people were using Human meters. I did not disclose the controversy over using Freestyle lite. She told me that they were new owners and were looking over pricing. If many people called Abbott to get new owner's phone number. address, we might be able to pursuade them that they can make more profit by decreasing to a reasonable price. Afterall, they just bought AlphaTRAK. If I find the number, I'll post it. Otherwise if interested, Abbott will provide the phone number when prodded. BTW, I tried the Free style lite first time tonight and got ridulous numbers.
AlphaTrak with AlphaTrak strip BG= 382
Relion= 339
AlphaTrak with Freestyle lite strip= 562 repeated=421.
I was hopeful..BTW.. all cat AlphaTRAK strips have various numbers 7, 39, 38,etc.
The only reason I believed that the strips MUST be identical is because if not the FDA would require that it be written clearly on bottle "human use only" and "animal use only"..but that is what i learned many years ago as a Health Care Professional..but who knows what the rules are now? I am going to point out a "situation" to the FDA that a human could accidentally mix up bottles and use the AlphaTrak strip, especially if the owner owned a cat/dog with DM..that many owners experien

 

Zoetis.

.

 

That's IT!!!

 

It's good to know that people are willing to talk to the companies directly and try to change things. I did the same thing with Evo brand cat food. They changed the formula to include PEA protein because they were having issues with the product breaking up too much. I told them that many of us with diabetic cats relied on that food as it was much more affordable than the alternative. They said that "as fed" they're still only 8.4 carbs, but many of us experienced higher bg's when feeding it. So maybe if enough people called to complain, they might consider changing it back.

In regards to the difference in the AT and Freestyle Lite, I've done MANY comparison tests on the same blood sample, and still do on occasion just to be sure, the biggest difference I've ever seen was in the 30 point range. But, then again, when I was using solely the AT strips, anytime Goof gave me what I thought was wonky number, I'd retest the same sample with another strip. This has happened several times. The difference between those strips was often as high or lower than 30 points. I've shown all of mt testing data to my vet, he says that the strips must be the same, the numbers are just too consistently close for them not to. When someone tells him that simply can't afford the AT strips, he tells them about the FS.

 

Having done an immense amount of "covert" investigation regarding the AT strips vs. Freestyle strips through Abbott Human and Animal divisions and Zoetis, I am 99.9% sure the strips are one in the same. The difference between the strips is that those packaged for use with the pet meter have been batch tested to provide a code for the meter that will most closely match animal lab values. Abbott of course was not prepared to say they are the same strips outright and often responded to very specific questions with "that's proprietary information" which I took to be equivalent to "you're on to us". The batch testing is what drives up the cost of the strips labelled for pet meter use.

Zoetis has actually owned interest in the AT meter since it was introduced. They partnered with Abbott to bring the meter to market (the AT meter is a reworked version of the original Freestyle Freedom Lite meter by Abbott) and have simply bought back any of the rights/financial interests from Abbott. Zoetis is still trying to get their act together as far as supporting the AT meter. From a practical and financial perspective, unless a new meter is developed, Zoetis has little if any control over the cost of strips as they are still "hostage" to Abbott.

There is one extra US patent on the AT strips than there is on the FS strips...I presume this might be due to FDA requirements. As part of my "covert" questioning with Abbott, I pointed out that the strips could be mistaken for each other since they appear identical and specifically asked if using the AT strip in a human Freestyle meter would cause an incorrect and potentially dangerous reading issue. The answer was "that's proprietary information" which to me strongly suggests the strips are identical and the correct code for the AT meter is the only difference between the strips.

The currently known "cat codes" on the AlphaTrak 2 meter are 08, 37, 38, and 93. Code 7 is ONLY for use on the old AlphaTrak meters and will not likely produce reasonable results on the AT2 meter.

 

Soooo...if someone could figure out what code to apply, maybe results could be accurate? To me, the difference in BG levels using FSL are the same or greater than if using a regular human meter..so using a human meter is easier for most and cheaper. However, if someone could determine what code might work to give more accurate results, it would be worth it. Don't you think the solution might be in the coding, especially since cats and dogs have different codes on the strips to be used in ATMeter? So, since control solution gives same results for FSL and AlphaTRAK strips, the calibration was probably based on what algo. or number decreases or increases the result to equal change in blood composition cats,dogs,human ?...I have just confused myself!!!

 

Blood Glucose Meter for Cats

Facts:

Blood has two constituents, the red and white blood cells and the liquid (serum). Blood plasma is blood serum without the clotting factor

The blood glucose value obtained via laboratory analysis is the glucose level in the serum/plasma constituents of blood

The glucose is in both the serum and red-blood cells (RBC) themselves. However, the distribution of glucose is different between humans and cats (and dog too)1

In Humans 58% is in plasma/serum and 42% in RBCs

In cats 93% is in plasma/serum and 7% in RBCs

In dogs 87.5 % in plasma/serum and 12.5% in RBCs.

The point-of-use blood glucose meters (the ones we use at home) all use whole blood.2 However, what specific blood glucose they measure varies with the manufacturer. Some manufacturers only measure the glucose in the serum/plasma. Others lyse (disrupt the cell walls of the RBCs) and thus mix the glucose that was in the RBC into the liquid and thus measure total glucose. The meters then correct/adjust the reading to be equivalent to human blood plasma

Discussion:

Since the glucose distribution is different n humans and cats/dogs the resulting BG valve obtained from the human meters will be different that lab values and animal-calibrated meters. Also, some manufacturer's meters will be much different that lab values for animals depending upon which method (lyse cells or only use plasma/serum) they use to measure glucose.


Animal calibrated meters correct the value to be equivalent to lab values.


What clouds any BGs obtained from hand-held meter is that they are only accurate to +/- 20 %. That includes the animal-calibrated meter. Also, do not confuse accuracy with reproducibility. It is expected that one meter with one lot of tests strips to be relatively repeatable, that is if you use the same drop of blood, you BG value will be much close than +/- 20%


References:

1. WHY DO YOU NEED A SPECIES SPECIFIC METER?

2. Glucose Meters: A Review of Technical Challenges to Obtaining Accurate Results

 

Exactly! If there are only 4 cat codes (and that is supposition based on member input here) you stand a 25% chance of getting the same result with the FS strip as you would with an AT strip with the meter set to the right same code. I doubt the variation on the multiple algorithms are significant but obviously will cause a slight change in accuracy. If however there are more codes we don't know about, the odds of getting reasonably close to optimal results goes down. That is why we recommend cross-checking each new vial of strips to get a baseline and ensure the difference is still within an expected range.

 

Wow..I was trying to review Menace's spreadsheets (in mg/dl)..My!!! you have been really busy caring for him...I tried to look back to see history. Is that unusual to need that much insulin? Soo....is Menace doing okay?

 

Hi Fran, Menace is amongst the rarer of diabetic cats in that she tested positive for Insulin AutoAntibodies. This is one the high dose conditions that can affect cats. So PLEASE DO NOT think her spreadsheet shows anything you should or are even likely to experience and DO NOT COPY ANY DOSING. There are cats on much more insulin than Menace but she is far from regulated yet so there's no telling how much she will need before I start seeing some better numbers. And just to further complicate things, she is a little "menace" when it comes to her total refusal to eat anything soft and wet (been fighting that battle since I got her at 10 weeks old) so I am unlikely to see her on "normal" doses of insulin unless she suddenly relents and we break her kibble addiction!
Elliott, on the other hand, has already seen a number of low and decent numbers so my expectations would be that your experience will follow a far more normal path!

 

@Larry and Kitties - that link seems to be broken. Do you have any idea of the original source of that article/info?

 

Here is link after Abbott purchased AlphaTrak
http://www.abbottpharmamfg.com/cont...en/PetDiabetes/HumanDiabetes-PetDiabetes.html

 

@Larry and Kitties Sorry Larry but that link is not working either. It takes me to some "raw" javascript only. I think Abbott has basically disabled everything to do with the pet meters at this point in time.

 

I just clicked on the link in my last reply and it opened fine.

 

I get the code displayed, too. I'm using Firefox. Which browser are you using, Larry?

 

I am using Google Chrome Version 48.0.2564.82

and it shows up fine. I also tried in in Firefox (16.0.2) and it opens up fine for me.

 

Firefox 43.0.4 here.

 

I know my Firefox is quite old. I never bothered updating it. I wonder if the newer Firefox is causing the problems?

 

This is the basic information on the differences in blood between cat/dog and people


Different Species, Different Blood
Although the causes and effects of diabetes in pets are relatively similar to that in humans, it is important to note that the makeup of your pet’s blood is much different than your own.

The ratio of glucose in plasma and red blood cells differs among humans, cats and dogs. The amount of glucose in plasma is 87.5% for dogs and 93% for cats. Humans have a significantly lower amount of glucose in the blood, with just 58%.

This difference means that detecting and managing diabetes in pets takes specific tools and techniques.

Differences in the Distribution of Glucose in Whole Blood


Sometimes, pet owners choose to use human blood glucose monitors, which are created and calibrated for measuring the level of glucose in a human’s blood. When a human blood glucose meter is used on a dog or cat, it assumes human blood composition to calculate glucose levels. This results in underestimation of blood glucose concentrations and inaccurate readings.

To get accurate blood glucose readings on your diabetic dog or cat, you must use a blood glucose monitor made specifically for dogs and cats. AlphaTRAK Blood Glucose Monitoring System is calibrated specifically for dogs and cats. Learn more about AlphaTRAK for the management of your pet’s diabetes.