Relion Ultima vs. Arkray Vital

[knolet]

I've been using the Relion Ultima, and have been pretty happy with it. We tested it against the meter at the Vet's office, the result was lower than the Vet's meter, so I was pretty comfortable. But I decided I might need a backup meter... just in case. And since the Arkray strips are cheaper, I thought I'd give the Arkray Vital a try. Just received it today, and tested the Arkray against the Relion with the same drop of blood - it was 70 points lower than the Relion. I was really hoping that it would be closer than that!?!? Has anyone else compared the two meters? and what was the result?

Also - I've never used a control solution with the Relion Ultima - I was told that I could order a test solution if I wanted to, but that it wasn't necessary to do. The Vital says to use a control solution when changing test strip bottles, when changing the batteries, etc. Any thoughts? If you use the Ultima, do you also use a control solution?

Thanks,
Kathie

 

[Dale 'n' Chip]

I suspect my Arkray Vital is running higher than at least one batch of Bayer Contour test strips.

To do a control test on the Vital you need to follow the directions to put it into "control mode" before sipping the solution. Otherwise it gives incorrect control readings.

The Arkray Vital does seem to use the same test strips as the Relion Prime, and the Relion Prime does not come with control solution.

I believe you are supposed to do periodic control tests with all meters.

 

[knolet]

This morning the Arkray Vital was only 20 points lower than the Relion Ultima - using the same drop of blood. That's more acceptable to me. I did use the control solution on the Vital last night, the number was right in the middle of the range from the bottle. I'll have to order the control solution for the Ultima - I just read the instructions from the box of strips, says to use a control solution but doesn't say what the range should be like it did on the Vital strip bottle.

Because of the 70 point difference yesterday, I'm not comfortable using the Vital as a backup. Guess I'll have to test it more and compare to the Ultima.

 

[knolet]

Today, it's 35 points lower using the same drop of blood. I tested on myself and it was only 8 points lower. The Vital has been lower each test than the Ultima, but not a consistent number lower. I don't know if I should trust this Vital (but then again, I only tested the Ultima once to the Vet's meter). I know that we're looking for patterns more than the number, but if it's a different number lower each time, then it would be difficult to judge the pattern, wouldn't it? Any thoughts?

 

[Dyana]

Remember, there can be a 20% meter variance with all meters. You can test the same drop of blood with the exact same meter and get two different numbers.
I recently change from the One Touch with very expensive strips to the Arkray Vital. In comparisons, the Arkray meter does give me lower numbers in the higher BG ranges. I now use the One Touch as my back up meter, and as long as I remember that it tends to give me higher numbers than the Arkray, it should be fine. So, if you're using the Arkray as the back up meter, you'll just need to remember that the number you get may be lower than (you're used to with) the Ultima.