The Clover A1c (HbA1c Analyzer) is a fully automated boronate affinity assay that measures a person’s average blood sugar levels over a three-month period by taking a sample of haemoglobin A1c molecules—a specific component of the red blood cells. Some blood sugar (or glucose) naturally attaches itself to these A1c molecules (glycosylation) as they move through the bloodstream. When this happens, the molecule is considered “glycosylated.” The more sugar in a person’s blood, the higher the percentage of glycosylated A1c molecules he will have.

Once a cell has been glycosylated, it stays that way. And since each A1c molecule has a lifespan of about four months, your A1c sample will include cells that are a few days, a few weeks and a few months old. Therefore, the test result covers a span of about three months.

There is a universal recognition among those with an interest and knowledge of diabetes, that significant reduction in HbA1c results in impressive relative risk reductions from whatever starting point and that absolute micro vascular risk reductions are actually higher with, for example, a reduction in HbA1c from 11% to 10% than from 7.5% to 6.5% (Stratton et al, 2000).