Abbott diabetes system creator wins award

The inventor of the technology used to develop a new type of diabetes monitoring system has been recognised at a leading innovation awards ceremony.

President George W Bush awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Professor Adam Heller, PhD, of the University of Texas, Austin, US, during a ceremony at the White House on Monday.

As co-founder of the company Therasense, Professor Heller developed the technology that led to the creation of Abbott’s FreeStyle Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems and the FreeStyle Navigator Continuous Glucose Monitoring System.

Senior vice-president of Abbott Diabetes Care Heather Mason commented: “The innovative and revolutionary technology developed by Dr Heller has significantly helped improve the quality of life for people with diabetes.”

Professor Heller’s system allows the conversion of the biochemical compositions used in glucose measurement to electronic signals.

This has been incorporated into both the FreeStyle Blood Glucose Monitoring System, which features the world’s smallest sample size, and the FreeStyle Navigator, which monitors blood sugar levels minute-by-minute to increase glucose control.

Healthcare company Abbott has been in operation for more than 120 years and provides pharmaceutical and medical products to over 130 countries, employing approximately 68,000 people worldwide.