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Different and Accurate

Why are glucose readings different?
Rather than taking glucose readings from your blood, CGM sensor
readings are taken from interstitial fluid, a thin layer of fluid that
surrounds the tissue cells below your skin. As carbohydrates are
digested, glucose enters your bloodstream before it is absorbed
into the interstitial fluid.
Think of glucose readings as the cars of a train, where the front
of the train is blood glucose and the back of the train is sensor
glucose.
BG = Blood Glucose
SG = Sensor Glucose
SG BG
88 91
When the train is traveling on a flat track, where there is little
fluctuation between glucose levels, blood glucose and sensor
glucose are similar.
Pg 26 of 28
Pg 26 of 28
BG
Meals
160
SG
116
Understanding the lag
1
Because glucose enters the bloodstream first, blood glucose
readings lead sensor glucose readings. Eventually, sensor glucose
readings catch up to blood glucose readings just like the back of
a train following the front of a train.
Instead of focusing only on a single moment in time, CGM gives
you a more complete picture of where your glucose is going, and
where your glucose has been, so you can make more informed
treatment decisions.
SG
Insulin
129
BG
93
When glucose levels are
changing rapidly, blood
glucose may not be the
same as sensor glucose.
Reference: 1. Tarini, Chetty. "The Technology of Glucose Sensors." In Glucose Sensor Use in Children and Adolescents ,
pp. 7-12. Springer, Cham, 2020.
Activity
SG
103
BG
92
This difference is known
as the lag, and will be
1
more evident after meals,
insulin, and activity.
Pg 27 of 28
Pg 27 of 28