Roche has expanded its range of technology-enabled testing devices with the launch of a Bluetooth coagulation system that allows patients to check how quickly their blood clots.

The company first launched its CoaguChek system in 1993 and the latest line-extension, the CoaguChek INRange, enables test data to be wirelessly transmitted to a patient's clinic following home tests, cutting down on visits to their hospital or GP.

Roland Diggelmann, COO at Roche Diagnostics, said: “As healthcare systems face continued pressure to deliver improved access to care at a lower cost, increased connectivity between HCPs and patients becomes even more important.

“This innovative technology continues the CoaguChek legacy of setting the standard in coagulation monitoring by providing high quality, convenient care, while optimising outcomes for patients. This is another proof point towards our aim to position patient self-testing as the standard of care to monitor VKA therapy.”

The company says CoaguChek INRange is the first Bluetooth-enabled device of its kind device for prothrombin time PT (INR) home self-testing for remote care programmes for anticoagulated patients.

Frequent self-testing has been shown to keep patients who adhere to their monitoring therapy within their therapeutic range, with consequent lower risks of stroke or bleeding.

The device's launch comes shortly after Roche picked up some marketing rights to a new implantable diabetes monitor. It will distribute Senseonics' Eversense implantable long-term continuous glucose monitoring in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

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