Roche Diagnostics recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared its new Accu-Chek Pocket Compass Diabetes Care software. The application is designed to help people with diabetes and their healthcare providers better manage the disease, tracks trends in blood glucose (or "sugar") levels by storing and analyzing up to 1,000 blood glucose readings from a Palm OS device.

Because Accu-Chek Pocket Compass works on a handheld computer, the company said users can record information on the spot, taking the information with them anywhere, including their physicians' offices. Those who have the Accu-Chek Compact or Accu-Chek Active blood glucose monitoring systems can use built-in infrared technology to "beam" data directly to their handheld computers.

Accu-Chek Pocket Compass Diabetes Care Software provides 15 customizable and easy-to-understand reports, graphs and charts. Besides blood glucose data, the software allows users to collect insulin, meal and exercise information and track A1c, ketones and blood pressure.

Accu-Chek Pocket Compass Diabetes Care Software is available now.