A few weeks ago I saw an article about an interesting new blood glucose meter, the Pogo Automatic Blood Glucose Meter. According to Pogo’s website, the device:
- Contains the meter, lancets, and strips in a single, compact device
- Automates changing of lancets and test strips
- Automates pricking your finger, drawing of blood, and transferring the blood to the test strip
- Uses less blood than traditional meters (0.25 μL)
- Meets FDA accuracy requirements (±15% vs. reference meter)
Carrying around a bag with my meter, lancing device, extra lancets, and strips is mildly annoying, so the Pogo sounded like it could be a nice upgrade. To see whether the Pogo was a good as claimed, I bought one and tested it vs. my current meter (FreeStyle Lite) and CGM (Dexcom G6).
Summary
- I tested 14 sets of 3 measurements each with the Pogo and FreeStyle Lite (98 total)
- Good
- The Pogo is very easy to use and could be a big improvement for someone with poor manual dexterity
- Bad
- Less reliable: 7 out of 49 failed measurements (14%) vs. 0 for the FreeStyle Lite
- Less precise: standard deviation of 7 vs. 2.5 mg/dL for the FreeStyle Lite
- Hurts more: both during lancing & caused sore fingers afterwards
- Prolonged bleeding: often bled for >1 min. after lancing
- Slow: >10s to take a measurement vs. <5s for the FreeStyle Lite
Overall, while having everything in a single device is convenient, it’s not even close to worth the poor reliability, reduced precision, and increased pain & bleeding.
Conclusion: I’ll be sticking with my FreeStyle Lite.
This is the first “product review” I’ve done and I’m curious if it’s interesting/useful for people. If you have diabetes or other quantified self products you’d like me to test, please let me know in the comments.
Details
Experiment
- Over the course of 9 days, I did 14 sets blood glucose measurements and random times.
- Each time, I took 3 measurements each with the Pogo and FreeStyle Lite, and recorded the result from my Dexcom G6.
- I also recorded any failed test strips or other observations.
- For each meter, I calculated the difference pooled standard deviation, bias (vs. Lite), and mean absolute difference (vs. Lite).
Raw data & analysis: link
General Observations
Good
- It took me a couple tries to get the hang of the technique, but the Pogo is very easy to use. You just turn it on, press your finger on the lancing area, and the Pogo handles the rest.
- The 10 strip/lancet cartridge is easily inserted into the device, no finesse required.
- If you have poor manual dexterity, the fact that everything is automated might be a big advantage.
Bad
- The Pogo is much slower than a normal meter. It takes a few seconds to turn on and waits a few seconds each before lancing and collecting blood. Overall, it takes >10 seconds to get a reading on the Pogo vs. <5 seconds on my FreeStyle Lite. Not terrible, but very noticeable.
- Lancing hurts a lot more than my normal meter. This seems to be due to a combination of the fact that I can’t control the lance depth and that I’m not in control of when the lancing occurs, which is psychologically more difficult for me.
- My fingers were often sore where I used the Pogo. I never had any soreness where I used the Freestyle Lite
- The Pogo was less reliable in drawing blood. In 6 out of 42 tests (14%), the Pogo asked me to “milk” my finger for more blood.
- Wounds from the Pogo often bled for much longer than my normal lancing device (sometimes >1 min). I had to be careful not to touch anything for a few minutes after testing to avoid getting blood on things.
Precision
Summary statistics are showing in the table above. The Pogo was:
- Well calibrated: small and not statistically significant bias vs. the FreeStyle Lite
- Less reliable: 14% failed tests vs. 0 for the Freestyle Lite
- Less precise: standard deviation of 7.0 [5.0, 11.2] vs. 2.4 [1.8, 3.9] for the FreeStyle Lite
Importantly, the Pogo showed about the same mean absolute difference as the Dexcom G6, indicating that it wouldn’t add much value as a secondary check of my CGM, which is the main reason I carry a fingerstick meter.
Conclusions
See summary above.
– QD
Thank you so much for the review.
This review was shower helpful for me. Thanks!!!
We love the POGO. Bleeding time for us one more with other lancet systems than with this – we have been asked to milk the finger twice in a month. My father with the onset of dementia easily follows the directions without being overwhelmed by strips and the meter. Best device ever. Even after double sampling with the old system and the POGO our readings were the same.
Glad it works for you. It really is simpler and I imagine that’s particularly valuable for your dad.
I have a POGO and while I love the simplicity and not having to carry a ton of tiny loose objects, there are several time when I can’t seem to get it to sense my blood despite “milking” my finger for much larger drops of blood than are required with a traditional meter. At least one or two out of every 10 this happens. And I find myself frantically squeezing my finger for more blood to try to get the sense or to notice it as it gives you something like a 40 second countdown before it gives up on you and says “no blood” even though the whole sensor area is covered with blood from my attempts. I think the hole it has to go in is sometimes maybe blocked by the aluminum foil in the newly punched opening in the cartridge. That the only thing I can think of. So that can be stressful and leave you feeling anxious. Also, it does hurt more if you keep your finger pressed down fully while it lances, but you can adjust the depth by simply relaxing and letting your finger rest on the surface of the hole after the initial press. It will still lance you, but not as hard.
I have had it for a month and have never had any of these problems.
This is my experience too. My finger can be dripping in blood and it doesn’t recognize it.
I have the same problems. You have to have the right finger and the right pressure or Pogo does not take the reading. I have wasted a lot of the spools because can’t get a reading
I have issues with hand neuropathy. I need the help of soneone to use any other glucometer. I thought the Pogo would be ideal. It is – when it works. I waste too many cartridges because Pogo will lance my finger , blood will appear but Pogo kerps telling me it needs more blood. My finger will be dripping blood and Pogo asks for more. The other issue is
that I can only use my thumb. it does not eork on any other finger. What a mystery. The convenience and ease of Pogo is a great idea. However it does need to be perfected. I will continue to use it until my thumb wears out and then unfortunately go back to Freestyle. Too bad Pogo. Wish the kinks could be worked out. But I doubt it.
It’s not accurate and it’s to expensive. Really, much easier to go the old fashioned! Don’t get one!
I agree! 24mg/dl difference in readings 100% of test. 1/2 of pricks fail to sense blood. Lost
Money! Alot of strips could have been purchased!
I found this to under report Blood glucose levels, by a considerable amount. As compared with “Contour Next,” as well as actual diagnostic lab testing, I don’t believe you can count on this unit for any accuracy. I also could lose 3 out of 10 spikes.
I have used a glucose monitor for years and I recently purchased the POGO and I tested its accuracy against the monitor I’ve used for years. Guess what? the claims that the POGO underestimates the blood sugar reading is not a big issue. On 3 out of ten sticks the POGO showed only a slight difference than my previous system indicated. Not enough to get worried about and the convenience of the POGO is wonderful. I haven’t experienced any excess bleeding or sore fingers. I would recommend this monitoring system to anyone. I like it a lot and it works well for me.
Glad it works for you. I’m really curious why it seems to hurt/bleed more for some people vs others. If I can ask, what setting do you use on a regular lancing device? On every lancing tool I’ve tried, I get reliable bleeding on the lowest setting.
I think, based on the comments above about bleeding, it may help if this device would allow the end-user to have a choice as to what gauge/size they can get. I have not found anywhere on their site where this is mentioned. Some people require a thinner needle and some maybe a bit thicker. I would love to know what my options are before I make a purchase.
I have been using the Pogo for about a year. I am pre-diabetic and was curious how individual meals affected my blood sugar. I monitor my A1C, but a 3 month average didn’t much help with individual meal planning. The device works perfectly for me. (I didn’t think sushi would be that bad, wrong!) I had to learn how to successfully use the device, which for me means washing my hands in warm water before a test, and “pre-milking” my finger to get as much blood in the end of the finger as possible just before I do a test. I am testing after each meal, so I have built up a callus on some fingers and I have to rotate areas. After I began doing these rituals, I have very few unsuccessful tests. The convenient testing is giving me the information I need to prevent the development of full diabetes, so at least for me, this little machine is worth every penny.
Do not waste your money on this meter!! It is “Less Precise, More Painful”, exactly like QD said.
The readings always off by more than 20 points, comparing to the test taking at the same time by my Verio Flex. The needle is thick and it has no depth control, it hurts much more than my Delica lancet and makes the bleeding longer.
Inaccurate and painful, just not worth it!
I agree 1000%! And the ads are deceptive, leading viewers to believe you just put your finger on and get a reading. It’s a ridiculous meter in my books.
Frustration and Optimism collide.
I have been using the OneTouch VerioFlex for more than a year (16 months as of this month). I use the 33-gauge needle, but manually sticking 3x’s a day was very frustrating. I saw the ad for the pogo automatic on Instagram and started researching immediately. Within two weeks I purchased the machine and 50 count of cartridges (5 individual cartridges with ten lancets which cycle around). The pogo uses a 30-gauge needle which is bigger, but the fear and shaky hands are behind me. For me that’s the biggest win of the pogo. Because I had so many lancets from the OneTouch, I figured why not test and see if both machines give the same readings. Long story short they don’t. Even the very first time, the reading was consistently a 20+ point difference, with pogo ALWAYS reading less than the OneTouch (I do both readings at the same time 3 times a day). When I had my A1C blood test in March 2023, my physician asked to see my readings on the app (micro-managing PCP). As he was scrolling back looking at every week for 90 days, I mentioned I had invested in the pogo and I had their reading also. He noticed the same thing and said to me let’s wait for your bloodwork to return because the A1C will confirm the accuracy. He gave me two ranges my A1C would be in based on the reading of both meters, and when the results were returned, he was spot on with the readings for the OneTouch. I explained I like the free hand lancet of the pogo, but once I use up the cartridges, I will just stick with the OneTouch meter. Also, and what solidified my decision to go back to OneTouch, at the beginning of the month I tested but phone was not in range. Normally the app will still pull the data. When it didn’t, I had to immediately retest and use a different finger. We’re talking less than a 2-minute window. The first pogo reading was 72 (that didn’t register) 2 minutes later the reading was 87 and that is not possible. My PCP also explained if I am having consistently low readings in the “red range” on Pogo, then I should have physical symptoms which I don’t. Yes, not getting enough blood is very frustrating and often I have to stick another finger to get a large enough drop that I can squeeze into Pogo before the countdown or as someone else mentioned, you will have a big smeared bloody mess. If someone wants to try it, I encourage you to do your research, but I don’t think it’s worth the money. I like the concept and the automatic lancing, but what good is it without accuracy.
Tried both Libre 2 and Libre 3 along with EvenCare before getting POGO. Both Libre sensors failed before completely using them, and were way off compared to the EvenCare which i used test fluid to check its accuracy. In fact, the Libra 2 was always off the high end of the chart and used to set off the alarm continuously before it failed. The ratings for them were much lower than i expected, at 2 or a little higher out of 5! Couldn’t find another no prick system except Dexcom which is too expensive in my opinion. Then i decided i’d try POGO. Even though it still pricks your finger, i like having the option of being able to adjust the lance depth. This may be something that was changed after this piece was written. For me i have noticed that when not enough blood mode comes on, its because the location on my fingertip isn’t the best. Some times i can’t get the spot to bleed more even when i squeeze it, so i keep another lance device handy to get more blood quickly. One time i dropped it accidently on to the floor from about 3 ft, and it worked fine after i reassembled it and turned it back on! Very sturdy! The time loss if any is no big deal compared to the convienience of not having to fiddle around with stuff! It also records everything for you and more. My conclusion is that the convenience plus all the features are worth it!
We found the Pogo to get a reading more reliably if you put the Pogo on a firm table laying flat and push straight down with your finger. Readings still fail occasionally, but a good bit less often.
Just wanted to share my experience with POGO to back up the general consensus here. The first unit I received was defective – would not read cartridges. When I called supported they ultimately sent me a new unit. Upon use, it consistently read 20-30 points lower than my onetouch verio flex. Pogo would say 119, while the verio read 148. This amount of discrepancy happened every time I did a comparison, with the POGO always reading low. At one point, I was approaching low, so I did a reading with both meters. Verio said 74 while POGO read 49!!! I also use a dexcom G7 and although it is typically about 5-15′ behind my verio readings, I find them to be consistently aligned whereas the POGO is low. Presumably due to the collection method, the lancing is more aggressive. Even with the lowest setting of 1, the lancing on the POGO is quite a bit more painful. It’s tolerable and would be worth while if the readings could be trusted, but that’s not the case. It’s a clever idea – the all in one device without having to faff around with test strip insertion, separate lancing device and reader – is a fabulous idea. Hopefully they will work out the erroneous readings at some point. For now, I use it as an on the go backup for my G7, knowing that my real blood sugar is about 20-30 pts higher than whatever it says (at least it’s consistently off by the same amount and in the same direction).
I love the POGO system. The convenience is amazing and makes me WANT to check my level each day. I change fingers from day to day, so soreness is not a problem. Being able to find the cartridges is my biggest problem.