Medtronic, one of the world’s largest medical device companies, has won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to launch its first remote glucose level monitor for diabetics.

The company’s mySentry monitor can be placed 50 feet away or greater from a single Medtronic insulin pump outfitted with a wireless transmitter, which sends continuous glucose readings and customizable alerts to caregivers, allowing them to keep tabs on a diabetic’s blood sugar levels. The system, which will cost as much as $3,000 without available discounts, could be a boon for parents of diabetic children, allowing them to head off bouts of severe low blood sugar, which frequently hit children with Type 1 diabetes at night.

“Advances in continuous glucose monitoring, including remote monitoring like mySentry, have given parents an added level of protection from dangerous nighttime hypoglycemia occurring in their sleeping child, as well as a means to improve their quality of life,” says William Tamborlane, Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology and Deputy Director of the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation.

Medtronic’s embrace of home-based wireless monitoring, predictive alerts, and a touch-sensitive display aligns it more with today’s smartphones than most common glucose monitors. But it is not alone in attempting to improve the convenience and utility of the everyday devices on which diabetics rely.

One product, a glucometer from the company Telecare can use cellular networks to transmit results to a patient-accessible online database. Another, the Dexcom Seven Plus continuous glucose monitor, wirelessly transmits glucose information to a handheld receiver that can display glucose level trends. Both the Telecare and Dexcom are FDA-approved.

The number of people with diabetes worldwide has reached 366 million according to new Diabetes Atlas figures released by the International Diabetes Federation. As incidence of the chronic condition grows, especially in emerging economies with growing middle classes, demand for the convenience and sophistication of such digital health technology for managing the disease is likely to grow.