The test strip is the cornerstone of self-care for diabetes. The numbers revealed by strips can dictate what you can eat, how much exercise you can do, how much insulin you need, and how much trouble you might be in during a low. For years, however, people with diabetes have worried about the times when their meters and test strips have given inconsistent results. Dr. Richard Melker, a Florida physician diagnosed with T1 at the age of 53, has experienced the fear that inaccurate test strip readings can bring.

“I took some test strips and they read that my glucose was very high, and so based on that I gave myself some insulin. A short time later, I tested with a different batch of test strips and my glucose was in the 50s,” he says.