Why aren human meters accurate for animals?
Several problems exist when trying to use human validated strips to measure whole blood glucose levels in animals. First, all glucose strips consist of two layers of membranes. One layer (a membrane with small pores) separates the red blood cells from the plasma (the glucose containing component of whole blood). A second layer contains chemicals which specifically measure the glucose content of the plasma. The red blood cells of animals flow through the first membrane slower than human red blood cells due to the difference in size and shape. Therefore, since the meter is set to measure at a specific time after adding the sample the value will be lower than expected. The difference in the meter value and the actual value is dependent on the meter manufacturer’s membrane selection and time setting. Second, human meters and lots of strips are extensively validated for glucose values in normal range (70-120 mg/dl) and values slightly higher or lower than the normal range. However, since th
