For the first time, people can track ketones without a needle
En el cruce entre la tecnología y la vulnerabilidad humana, Abbott ha recibido la aprobación regulatoria europea para un dispositivo que, por primera vez, vigila simultáneamente la glucosa y las cetonas desde un solo parche en la piel. Durante décadas, la cetoacidosis diabética —una complicación que puede desarrollarse en horas y conducir al coma o la muerte— ha escapado a la detección temprana por falta de herramientas continuas. El Libre Duo no es solo un avance técnico: es una respuesta a la angustia silenciosa de millones de personas que viven sabiendo que una crisis podría estar gestándose sin señal de advertencia.
- La cetoacidosis diabética puede desarrollarse en cuestión de horas y, sin intervención, llevar al coma o la muerte, pero durante décadas su detección temprana dependió de análisis de sangre u orina que solo capturaban un instante aislado.
- Abbott ha roto ese límite con el Libre Duo: un sensor único que mide glucosa y cetonas cada sesenta segundos, eliminando la necesidad de pinchazos repetidos y ofreciendo visibilidad continua en tiempo real.
- La aprobación cubre tanto a adultos como a niños desde los dos años, con versiones de 15 y 10 días respectivamente, y está respaldada por un consenso internacional de expertos en monitorización continua de cetonas.
- El dispositivo se integrará en el ecosistema digital Libre de Abbott y se conectará con bombas de insulina para crear sistemas de administración automatizada que ajusten dosis en función de ambos marcadores.
- El lanzamiento en varios países europeos está previsto para finales de 2026, marcando el inicio de una nueva era en la gestión preventiva de la diabetes.
Abbott ha obtenido la aprobación regulatoria europea para el Libre Duo, un sensor que por primera vez monitoriza glucosa y cetonas de forma simultánea desde un único parche en la piel, tomando mediciones cada minuto. Es un cambio real en la forma en que las personas con diabetes pueden protegerse de una de las complicaciones más peligrosas de su condición.
La cetoacidosis diabética ocurre cuando el cuerpo, privado de insulina, descompone grasa a un ritmo que inunda el torrente sanguíneo de cetonas, acidificando la sangre hasta niveles críticos. Puede desarrollarse en horas. Sin tratamiento, conduce al coma o la muerte. Sin embargo, detectar el ascenso de cetonas ha requerido históricamente análisis puntuales que no capturan la evolución en tiempo real, dejando a pacientes y familias expuestos a una amenaza que puede crecer en silencio.
El Libre Duo cambia esa realidad. La versión de 15 días está aprobada para adultos mayores de 18 años; la de 10 días, pensada para niños y adolescentes activos, puede usarse desde los dos años. Ambas mantienen precisión constante durante todo el período de uso. Chris Scoggins, vicepresidente ejecutivo de la división de diabetes de Abbott, señaló que el dispositivo responde directamente a lo que los propios pacientes han expresado: que el riesgo de una complicación grave es una presencia constante en sus vidas.
Más allá del sensor en sí, el Libre Duo se integrará en el ecosistema digital de Abbott, permitiendo compartir datos con cuidadores y profesionales sanitarios en tiempo real. La compañía trabaja además con fabricantes de bombas de insulina para crear sistemas de administración automatizada que ajusten las dosis según las lecturas combinadas de glucosa y cetonas. El lanzamiento en varios países europeos está previsto para finales de 2026.
Lo que hace significativo este avance no es solo su sofisticación técnica, sino lo que resuelve en términos humanos: por primera vez, una persona con diabetes podrá vigilar sus cetonas sin agujas ni recipientes, con información continua que puede marcar la diferencia entre una intervención a tiempo y una crisis irreversible.
Abbott has won European regulatory approval for a device that does something no other sensor has done before: it monitors both glucose and ketones from a single patch on the skin, checking both markers every sixty seconds. The company is calling the technology Libre Duo and Libre Duo 10 Day, and it represents a genuine shift in how people with diabetes can protect themselves from one of the condition's most dangerous complications.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is what happens when the body, starved of insulin, begins breaking down fat for energy at a rate that floods the bloodstream with ketones—chemical compounds that, in high enough concentrations, can push the blood dangerously acidic. The condition can develop in hours. Left untreated, it leads to coma or death. Yet for decades, detecting rising ketones has required blood draws or urine tests that capture only a single moment in time. Doctors have recommended checking ketone levels throughout a patient's illness and during periods of high blood sugar, but early detection has remained elusive. People with diabetes and their families live with the knowledge that a serious complication could be building without warning.
The Libre Duo sensors change that equation. By measuring glucose and ketones continuously, they eliminate the need for repeated blood or urine tests and give patients and their doctors real-time visibility into what is happening inside the body. The 15-day version is approved for adults eighteen and older. The 10-day version, designed for younger patients and active teenagers who may benefit from a shorter wear period, is approved for children as young as two. Both offer consistent accuracy across their entire duration of use.
Chris Scoggins, the executive vice president overseeing Abbott's diabetes care division, framed the approval as a response to what patients themselves have told the company: that the risk of serious complications is a constant presence in their lives. The new sensors give people with diabetes, their families, and their doctors clearer and earlier information about what is occurring in the body, allowing them to act before a crisis develops. The technology aligns with recommendations from an international expert consensus document on safe and effective continuous ketone monitoring, published by Breakthrough T1D, an organization focused on type 1 diabetes research and advocacy.
The sensors will integrate into Abbott's broader Libre digital health ecosystem, allowing users to share glucose and ketone data with caregivers and healthcare providers in real time. The company is also working with major insulin pump manufacturers to connect automated insulin delivery systems directly to these sensors, creating a closed loop in which the pump can adjust insulin doses based on both glucose and ketone readings. Abbott plans to launch the Libre Duo systems across several European countries by the end of 2026.
The approval arrives as the gap in diabetes care has become more visible. Ketoacidosis develops quickly and is often hard to catch early. Because ketones are not routinely monitored, warning signs frequently go unnoticed, delaying intervention and driving up the rates of severe episodes. For the first time, people living with diabetes will be able to track ketones without a needle or a cup—a small change in the mechanics of care that could prevent hours of suffering or, in the worst cases, save a life.
Citações Notáveis
The risk of serious complications is a constant presence in the lives of people with diabetes, and these sensors give them, their families, and their doctors clearer and earlier information to act before a crisis develops.— Chris Scoggins, executive vice president, Abbott Diabetes Care Division
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does ketone monitoring matter so much more than just watching glucose?
Glucose tells you what's happening right now. Ketones tell you what your body is doing in response—whether it's starting to break down fat dangerously fast. You can have normal glucose and still be building toward ketoacidosis. That's the blind spot this closes.
How quickly can ketoacidosis actually develop?
Hours. That's what makes early detection so critical. If you're checking ketones once a day with a blood test, you could miss the window entirely. Continuous monitoring means you catch the trend before it becomes an emergency.
What changes for a patient's daily life?
No more pricking your finger or collecting urine samples to check ketones. You wear a patch. The data flows to your phone, your doctor, your family. You get alerts before things get dangerous. That's freedom from a kind of constant low-level dread.
Will this work with existing insulin pumps?
Abbott is building those connections now. Eventually, the pump itself could adjust insulin doses based on ketone readings—the system responds before you have to think about it. That's the real transformation.
Who benefits most from this?
Anyone with diabetes, but especially people with type 1, where ketoacidosis is a real risk. And parents of young children with diabetes—they can finally sleep without wondering if something dangerous is building in their child's blood.