Products

SPIRIT Test Strips

Use with the First Canadian Health SPIRIT meters.

  • Easy and accurate testing – no coding required
  • Requires a very small sample of blood (0.5 micro-liters of blood)
  • Rapid test result in less than 5 seconds
  • Long shelf life (2-year expiry from date of manufacture)

How to Use

Preparing the lancing device
  1. Unscrew and remove the adjustable tip.
  2. Insert a new disposable lancet firmly into the carrier.
  3. Twist off and set aside the protective cover of the disposable lancet and replace the adjustable tip.
  4. Set the depth of penetration that you want to use; in thicker skin areas use a higher number; in thin sensitive skin areas use a lower number. Rotate the top portion of the adjustable tip until the setting number matches the arrow.
  5. Cock the lancing device by pulling on the sleeve until the device clicks.
Preparing the meter and test strip
  1. Wash your hands and the site from which the blood will be drawn.
  2. Gently insert the square end of the test strip into the meter port with its contact bars facing upwards. The (strip with blood drop) symbol should appear on the screen.
  3. Get a blood sample using your lancing device (see instructions above).
  4. Touch the pointed tip of the strip into the blood droplet on your finger, keeping the test strip vertical to the blood droplet, making sure the blood fills up the small window on the black side of the strip. Note: You only need a droplet the size of a pinhead.
  5. Once the blood sample has filled the confirmation window, the meter will beep. If the window hasn’t filled, an Er4 message will appear.
  6. The test result will appear after the meter counts down from 5 to 1. The result will automatically be stored in the meter’s memory.

Note: the test strip must be inserted into your meter before applying blood to the pointed end. The meter does not require any manual coding. First Canadian Health SPIRIT blood glucose test strips are for use only in First Canadian Health SPIRIT meters. You have about 2 minutes to complete the test.

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Testimonial

On September 12, 2017, BON (Brokenhead Ojibway Nation) Pharmacy held a diabetes clinic. BON Pharmacy is owned by the Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation and is located in Scanterbury, M.B. (approx. 45 min north of Winnipeg). The clinic was organized and operated by nurse Sandy Koropas (RN CDE), nurse Amelia Rigby (RN CDE), and pharmacist Lance Breland (B.Sc.Phm). Other key members of this clinic team were Lisa Laroque and Trinisha Wood who assisted in the preparation and workflow of the clinic. In total, 15 patients attended the clinic, to which 11 patients were given Spirit meters and supplies.
Lance Breland, manager of BON pharmacy, said “We had a good turn out for this clinic. We would like to host another clinic in the near future.”
Diabetes is a complex disease state that needs to be managed carefully. Therefore, early detection is paramount to gaining control over future complications. One patient who attended the clinic had an elevated glucose reading of 25.3 mmol/L. The patient was given lifestyle counselling and returned the next week with lower readings. This patient is being monitored and she is continuing to improve her
glucose readings.
Another patient attended the clinic because his spouse was concerned he may be at risk of developing diabetes. This patient did not have elevated glucose readings, but appreciated the fact that this service is provided in his community.
In another example, a patient had been non-compliant with taking her oral diabetes medication for the last two years. The clinic was an opportunity to remind this patient that it is important to take the medications as directed. She was restarted on her medication and is now being monitored.
This clinic was a launching point to raise awareness of diabetes in BON community. One month after this clinic, the pharmacy has been filling refills of Spirit test strips for community members. This is a positive sign that blood sugars are being monitored in a community that struggles with the debilitating disease – Diabetes.
— Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Pharmacy, Diabetes Clinic Summary