New focus on time in range transforms diabetes management with continuous glucose monitoring

Advances in continuous glucose monitoring technology and international guidelines are shifting diabetes treatment towards a comprehensive focus on glucose patterns, aiming to improve outcomes and reduce complications.

For people living with diabetes, a single glucose reading can be misleading. What matters just as much is the pattern: how often blood sugar stays within target, how long it rises above range, and how much time it spends too low. That approach, known as time in range, has become a central part of modern diabetes care, according to guidance from the International Diabetes Center and major diabetes organisations.

Richard M. Bergenstal, a diabetes specialist at the International Diabetes Center, has argued that treatment should not rely on one snapshot alone. The International Consensus on Time in Range recommends that, for most adults with diabetes using continuous glucose monitoring, the aim should be to stay between 70 and 180 mg/dL for more than 70% of the day. The same consensus also sets additional targets for time spent below and above range, giving clinicians a fuller picture of glucose control.

Continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, make that possible by measuring glucose throughout the day and night rather than relying only on finger-stick checks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says these wearable devices can provide real-time readings and help people who use insulin make more informed decisions about food, exercise and treatment adjustments. The American Diabetes Association and the Cleveland Clinic both note that CGM data is especially useful because it can reveal trends that a single test cannot.

That is the logic behind the LinX CGM launch in Indonesia by PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia and MicroTech Medical. The company says the device is designed to show glucose patterns and time in range, not merely one-off numbers, so that doctors and patients can adjust care more effectively. Prof. Dr. dr. Em Yunir, chair of PERKENI, said the technology offers a more comprehensive glucose profile and can support better clinical decisions. The broader medical consensus is that this kind of monitoring can help reduce the risk of diabetes complications by making treatment more precise and more responsive.