London, July 16 Panic gripped people with diabetes, after a popular 'life saving' iPhone app for monitoring blood sugar stopped working on some Apple devices after getting an update.
The FreeStyle Libre app, by healthcare major Abbott, works by monitoring blood sugar levels through a small sensor inserted into the body. The app connects to a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) which is typically inserted under the skin in the arm or belly.
It provides real-time updates to people with Type 1 diabetes, meaning they don't have to constantly take blood samples by pricking their fingers for their blood sugar readings. The app has stopped working on some Apple devices, and it has also been withdrawn from the App Store, creating panic among people using the product, BBC reported.
It was "very scary, David Burchell, who has type 1 diabetes, was quoted as saying.
"This equipment is supposed to save your life," he said.
"I woke up yesterday morning, went to check my sensor thing... and basically it broke, just showing a white screen and I panicked. "I've spoken to [Abbott] many times as this sort of thing has happened before. They told me to delete the app, turn the phone off and on and reinstall... but when trying to redownload it they'd taken it off the App Store so I couldn't download it.
"I was left without an active test, other than the fingerprint testing. Pricking your finger 100 times a week is a nightmare, so the app and the sensor is really helpful," Burchell said. Similarly, another user Sonja Sleator from Belfast said the app was "so important" to her and she was concerned about not being able to use it.
"Knowing I don't have that constant check, it feels like going back to when I was first diagnosed and having to finger prick a few times a day," she was quoted saying.
According to Abbott, FreeStyle Libre is the top sensor-based glucose monitoring technology used by more than 4.5 million people across over 60 countries. The company said the issue was only affecting customers in the UK, and it expected the app would be made available again soon.
As per the NHS, there are 200,000 people using these types of sensors in the UK. Abbott also noted that the problem emerged after it updated the LibreLink app to give users a significant quality-of-life improvement, removing the need to manually scan the disc with a device.
The new update aimed to allow the CGM to send the app data continuously, removing the need for a scan. The company said it is working on solutions to improve it, and asked people facing issues with the iOS app to “uninstall and reinstall the app”.
"People using the [app] without issue can continue to use it as normal. The Android version of the [app] continues to be available for download in the UK. No other countries are impacted."
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