US vendor Telcare will next week commercially launch a 3G-enabled glucometer (pictured), the device that diabetics use to measure their blood sugar level, according to a report in AllThingsD. The report did not specify but the vendor is likely to be launching the device at the CES show in Las Vegas (January 10-13). According to the report Telcare says its glucometer is “the first with wireless technology that instantly transmits a patient’s readings to a private online database, which can be accessed by the patient or—with permission—by a doctor, caregiver or family member”. The vendor is using T-Mobile USA’s 3G network to upload patient data from the device to the database.

Proving a product is a first is often contentious. The key word might be “instantly”. Because of its built-in cellular modem, Telcare’s glucometer uploads data immediately to the online database. The T-Mobile 3G connection does not carry a subscription or fee although the device does cost US$150 which is relatively expensive for a glucometer. The report points to an already commercially available product from a company called Entra Health Systems that uploads blood-sugar readings wirelessly but uses the route of sending via Bluetooth from the glucometer to a user’s smartphone and then via 3G.

Finally, Telcare is one of the five companies so far backed by the Qualcomm Life Fund, the chipset vendor’s venture fund for the mobile health sector. This week’s report did not mention whether data gathered by Telcare will be included in Qualcomm’s data aggregation, an important part of its business model for mobile health.