Patent Application
20130038453
The present invention relates to a blood sugar level measuring apparatus which measures a blood sugar level of a user, a blood sugar level measured result display method thereof and a blood sugar level measured result display control program.
Operability of a measuring apparatus and preparations etc required for the measurement are extremely large problems to a user such as a diabetic who has to measure the blood sugar level and control an amount of meal and an amount of exercise in terms of health management. Under such circumstances, a portable measuring apparatus enabling the user to measure the blood sugar level comparatively easily in a daily life is developed and mounted with a variety of functions that assist the use in the health management. For example, a technology disclosed in Patent document 1 is configured to enable the user to easily recognize transitions of the blood sugar levels by displaying graphs of recent measurement values together with the past measurement values on a display of the measuring apparatus.
The user having a necessity of managing the blood sugar level in terms of the health is requested to measure the blood sugar level of the user himself or herself at a proper point of time under a variety of situations of the normal life. On the other hand, it is recognized that the blood sugar level has a tendency of increasing and decreasing in value corresponding to a body condition of the user, e.g., conditions such as a pre-meal condition, a post-meal condition and a post-exercise condition, and it can be therefore a highly important technical element in terms of managing the blood sugar level of the user to recognize how the body condition is when the blood sugar level for the measurement is measured.
In the conventional technologies, however, though a measurement history of the past blood sugar levels is displayed by graphs, the body condition of the user when making the measurement is not reflected in the graph. It is therefore not said that convenience of the management of the blood sugar level of the user is sufficiently improved.
It is an object of the present invention, which was devised in view of the problems described above, to provide a blood sugar level measuring apparatus, a blood sugar level measured result display method thereof and a blood sugar level measured result display control program that are capable of displaying a measured result reflecting a body condition of a user when measuring a blood sugar level and improving convenience of managing the blood sugar level of the user.
The present invention takes, in order to solve the problems described above, a configuration of managing measured blood sugar level data and a condition flag representing a body condition of a user when making the measurement in a way that associates the blood sugar level data and the condition flag with each other, and displaying the measured result on a display on the basis of this associative relation, thereby enabling the improvement of the convenience with which user manages the blood sugar level.
Specifically, according to the present invention, in a blood sugar level measuring apparatus including: a measuring unit to measure a blood sugar level of a user; a recording unit to record measurement data thereof; and a display unit to capable of displaying a measured result on a display, the improvement is characterized by further including: a condition flag setting unit to record, on the recording unit, a condition flag related to a body condition of the user when measuring the blood sugar level in a way that associates the condition flag with blood sugar level data measured by the measuring unit; and a display control unit to display the measured result recorded on the recording unit on the display on the basis of the condition flag set by the condition flag setting unit.
The blood sugar level measuring apparatus according to the present invention measures the blood sugar level of the user and displays the measured result thereof, thereby improving the convenience with which user manages the blood sugar level. The condition flag setting unit associates the condition flag related to the body condition of the user when making the measurement with the blood sugar level data measured by the measuring unit, and thereafter the measurement data is managed within the apparatus. It therefore follows that the display control unit controls the display of the measured result in a status where the condition flag is associated with the measurement data.
According to the configuration such as this, the data management is conducted by associating the condition flag defined as information on the body condition that largely affects the blood sugar level of the user with the measurement data within the blood sugar level measuring apparatus, and hence the user can confirm how the body condition is when measuring the blood sugar level for measurement through a display content of the display control unit, whereby determination based on the measured result is properly made, and the convenience of the management of the blood sugar level can be improved. If based on a point that the blood sugar level in a blood largely fluctuates depending on the body condition, it is greatly beneficial to the user that the data are managed by thus associating the condition flag with the measurement data.
In the present invention, the condition flag is formed so that a predetermined portion can be, e.g., lit up to indicate a predetermined shape on the display; the condition flag setting unit may display the predetermined portion on the display by lighting up this predetermined portion when a predetermined case arises; further, e.g., the blood sugar level measuring apparatus may include a memory, and predetermined flags may be previously stored in this memory, or alternatively desired flags may also be stored therein according to the request; and the condition flag setting unit may properly invoke the stored flag and may display the flag in the way of being associated with the corresponding measurement data. Namely, in the present invention, the condition flags may be fixedly set beforehand in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus and may also be changed such as being added or deleted according to the request. The blood sugar level measuring apparatus according to the present invention may include any one of the configuration that the flags are thus fixedly set and the configuration that these flags can be changed according to the request, and may also include both of these configurations. Moreover, the blood sugar level measuring apparatus according to the present invention includes a memory capable of adding or deleting the flags; the condition flag setting unit records biometric information of the user in relation to the blood sugar level of the user on the recording unit; the blood sugar level measuring apparatus further includes a matching unit to accept input of the biometric information and match the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus with at least a part of information managed by an external apparatus; and the display control unit displays the biometric information recorded on the recording unit on the display. According to these configurations, the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus can be matched with the information managed by the external apparatus. For example, if the external apparatus is installed at a hospital where the user undergoes a diagnosis, management items on the side of the hospital can be matched with the management items on the user's side, and, in the items managed at the hospital, the items desired to be managed on the user's side can be contained as the management items of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus, which is highly effective in the diagnosis and a medical treatment.
Herein, by way of one example of the display control by the display control unit, the display control unit may be configured to display graphs of transitions of the blood sugar levels of the user on the display on the basis of the measurement data recorded on the recording unit. Further, the display control unit may display predetermined marks corresponding to the respective condition flags associated with plural pieces of blood sugar level data indicated by the graphs in the way of being adjacent to the graphs. The user can easily understand fluctuations of his or her blood sugar levels and gets easy to be aware of caution points about the health by displaying the graphs of the transitions of the blood sugar levels. Further, predetermined marks corresponding to the condition flags set by the condition flag setting unit are displayed adjacent to the displayed graphs, whereby the user can recognize the transitions of the blood sugar levels and the body conditions simultaneously. This contrivance is highly useful in terms of the convenience to the user. Note that the predetermined marks are different corresponding to types of the condition flags to be set, however, if based on the point of being displayed together with the graphs on the display, it is preferable to determine shapes, colors, etc thereof so as to be distinguishable between the marks when the user glances at the marks.
As another example of the display control by the display control unit, the display control unit may display an arithmetic value based on the measurement data recorded on the recording unit on the display. In this case, further, the display control unit may extract a measurement data group exhibiting the same condition flag set by the condition flag setting unit from within the measurement data recorded on the recording unit, and may display the arithmetic value about the extracted measurement data group on the display.
The arithmetic value is an arithmetic value calculated based on the measured result and becoming a useful piece of information in terms of managing the blood sugar level of the user. For instance, the arithmetic value is exemplified by an average value of the blood sugar levels of the user for a predetermined period but is not limited to only this average value. Depending on the situation, median value calculated based on the measured result may suitably be used as the arithmetic value. On the other hand, if based on such a point that the blood sugar level has the tendency of fluctuating up and down depending on the body condition of the user, as described above, it is considered helpful in managing the blood sugar level of the user to display the arithmetic value per condition flag related to the body condition. For instance, the arithmetic value of the post-meal blood sugar level and the arithmetic value of the pre-meal blood sugar level can be displayed in distinction therebetween rather than displaying the arithmetic values with the post-meal and pre-meal blood sugar levels being mixed, and hence the user can make the determination about the blood sugar level more accurately and easier. In the present invention, as described above, the condition flag is managed in the way of being associated with the measurement data, whereby the variety of displays such as displaying the graphs and displaying the arithmetic value can be easily controlled.
Note that the condition flags associated by the condition flag setting unit in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus may be whatever flags representing phenomena and events related to conditions of a living body. These flags contain flags etc representing facts pertaining to actions on the living body in addition to the flags representing the conditions of the living body itself such as the flags indicating a pre-meal condition, a post-meal condition and a post-exercise condition of the user, and whatever condition flags can be adopted if being the flags related to the body conditions related to the blood sugar levels of the user. These condition flags contain, e.g., flags indicating the facts related to the actions taken by the user such as the pre-meal condition, the post-meal condition, such as the flags about energy intake or the amount of meal, the post-exercise condition and the amount of exercise of the user, flags indicating physiological/biochemical conditions of the living body such as flags representing an in-vivo substance quantity of the user like an amount of β cells, a cholesterol value and a Hb (haemoglobin) A1c value and changes thereof, flags indicating whether or not a medicine is dosed such as dosing insulin to the user and how much degree of medicine is dosed, and flags indicating the facts related to the actions on the living body. Further, the “condition” is generally interpreted as “a state at a certain point of time” in some cases, however, the present description gives a connotation “state” in a broad sense, and the “condition” embraces not only a change at a certain point of time but also a change with time elapse in the living body and a degree of the change as well. Furthermore, the “condition” contains not only the action on the living body and whether the action on the living body is taken or not but also a degree of the action. Further, the condition flag may contain whatever biometric information managed in relation to the blood sugar level at a management institution such as the hospital. The information managed at the hospital etc can be matched with the information grasped by the user, and it is feasible to improve accuracy of associating the measured blood sugar level with the biometric information managed in relation to the blood sugar level.
Herein, if the condition flag embraces a concept of “degree”, the condition flag may be formed to indicate an increase and a decrease of this degree with a gauge, for example, by incrementing and decrementing the number of predetermined marks or by using icons, etc. For instance, if the condition flag is the flag indicating the amount of meal or the energy intake, the increase and decrease in amount of meal or in the energy intake may be displayed by incrementing and decrementing, e.g., the number of marks. The examples of such marks contain for example, bar marks, graphical marks, points, icons, etc. That is, the blood sugar level measuring apparatus may adopt a configuration that if the condition flag associated by the condition flag setting unit is the flag about the post-meal condition, the display control unit displays information on an amount of meal of the user together with the blood sugar level of a blood of the user, which is measured by the measuring unit, on the display. Further, for example, when a user require to recognize the degree of his or her energy intake, which is generally considered to be in relation to his or her hungry state or filled state, the blood sugar level measuring apparatus may adopt a configuration that the display control unit displays information on energy intake of the user together with the blood sugar level of a blood of the user, which is measured by the measuring unit, on the display. This configuration takes account of such a point that even when the condition flag representing the post-meal condition of the user or the energy intake of the user is set, influence exerted on the blood sugar level of the “meal” or the “energy intake” largely fluctuates depending on the amount thereof. For example, the information on the amount of meal of the user may be displayed as an image imitating the stomach of a person and as a variation image that varies corresponding to the amount of meal, and, e.g., the variation image may vary as the number of bar marks changes. Further for example, the information on the amount or level of energy intake of the user may be displayed as a variation image that varies corresponding to the amount or level of the energy intake, and, e.g., the variation image may vary as the number of marks changes. The marks may be bar marks, graphical marks, points, or icons, etc. Or the variation of the amount or level of the energy intake may be displayed with using icons. For example, the image imitating the stomach of a person may be used for representing the energy intake. Further, for example, the size or shape, etc., may also be used to represent the amount or level of the energy intake. For example, an empty stomach may be used to represent a hungry state of the user.
Furthermore, the blood sugar level measuring apparatus may, if the condition flag associated by the condition flag setting unit is the flag representing the condition of the living body that changes with the elapse time from a certain matter or action, the elapse time from the matter or action may be displayed. For example, the display control unit may display, on the display, information on the elapse time since at least one of a point of time when taking action on the living body and starting the action on the living body, a point of time when finishing the action on the living body and a predetermined point of time during a period from the starting point of time to the finishing point of time together with the blood sugar level of the blood of the user, which is measured by the measuring unit. Further, by way of another example, the blood sugar level measuring apparatus may adopt a configuration that if the condition flag associated by the condition flag setting unit is the flag about the post-meal flag, the display control unit may display, on the display, information on elapse time since at least one of a point of time when the user starts having the meal, a predetermined point of time during the meal and a point of time when completing the meal together with the blood sugar level of the blood of the user that is measured by the measuring unit. Similarly to the amount of meal or the energy intake, the elapse time since these predetermined points of time is also a parameter exerting the influence on the increase and the decrease in blood sugar level of the user. Such being the case, in the present invention, the elapse time is thus reflected in the blood sugar level data, whereby the convenience with which user manages the blood sugar level can be further improved.
Herein, the blood sugar level measuring apparatus may be configured to further include an operation unit through which the user can give an instruction to associate the condition flag with the blood sugar level. For example, the condition flag setting unit may associate the post-meal flag with the blood sugar level data and further, the information on the amount of meal with the blood sugar level data may be associated with the flag about the post-meal condition on the basis of a user's operation over the operation unit. That is, the condition flags can be handled through the user's operation on the operation unit.
Here, the operation unit may have a function of an operation of inputting or selecting a predetermined condition about contents of the meal, and, in such a case, the condition flag setting unit may automatically calculate the information on the amount of meal according to the result of the operation, and associates this information with the blood sugar level data. According to this configuration, the user performs the operation about the predetermined condition related to the contents of the meal that are easy to input and select comparatively objectively, thereby automatically calculating the information on the amount of meal. Therefore, the operability of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus can be improved, and the accuracy of the information on the amount of meal can be also increased.
Next, the present invention can be grasped from an aspect of a blood sugar level measured result display method. Namely, the present invention is a blood sugar level measured result display method of displaying, in a blood sugar level measuring apparatus including: a measuring unit to measure a blood sugar level of a user; a recording unit to record measurement data thereof; and a display unit to capable of displaying a measured result on a display, the measured result on the display, the method including: a condition flag setting step of recording, on the recording unit, a condition flag related to a body condition of the user when measuring the blood sugar level in a way that associates the condition flag with measured blood sugar level data; and a display control step of displaying the measured result recorded on the recording unit on the display on the basis of the condition flag set in the condition flag setting step. Also in the display method according to the present invention, as in the case of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus, the body condition of the user is reflected in the measured result, thereby enabling the improvement of the convenience with which user manages the blood sugar level.
Moreover, in the blood sugar level measured result display method, the display control step may include displaying graphs of transitions of the blood sugar levels of the user on the display on the basis of the measurement data recorded on the recording unit. Moreover, the display control step may include displaying predetermined marks corresponding to the respective condition flags associated with plural pieces of blood sugar level data indicated by the graphs in the way of being adjacent to the graphs.
Further, the display control step may include displaying an arithmetic value based on the measurement data recorded on the recording device on the display. Still further, the display control step may include extracting a measurement data group exhibiting the same condition flag set by the condition flag setting unit from within the measurement data recorded on the recording unit, and displaying the arithmetic value about the extracted measurement data group on the display. Note that an average value of the blood sugar levels of the user for a predetermined period can be given by way of one example of this arithmetic value. Depending on the situation, median value may suitably be used as the arithmetic value.
Also in the thus-configured blood sugar level measured result display method, as in the case of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus, the body condition of the user is reflected in the measured result and can be thus displayed on the display, whereby the convenience with which user manages the blood sugar level can be improved. It is to be noted that the technical idea disclosed with respect to the blood sugar level measuring apparatus can be similarly applied to the display method according to the present invention.
Next, the present invention can be also grasped from an aspect of a blood sugar level measured result display control program. Namely, the present invention is a blood sugar level measured result display control program as a computer program to make a computer including: a measuring unit to measure a blood sugar level of a user; a recording unit to record measurement data thereof; and a display unit to capable of displaying a measured result on a display, display the measured result on the display, the program making the computer execute: a condition flag setting step of recording, on the recording unit, a condition flag related to a body condition of the user when measuring the blood sugar level in a way that associates the condition flag with measured blood sugar level data; and a display control step of displaying the measured result recorded on the recording unit on the display on the basis of the condition flag set in the condition flag setting step. Also in the display control program, as in the case of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus, the body condition of the user is reflected in the measured result and can be thus displayed on the display, whereby the convenience with which user manages the blood sugar level can be improved.
Moreover, in the blood sugar level measured result display control program, the display control step may include displaying graphs of transitions of the blood sugar levels of the user on the display on the basis of the measurement data recorded on the recording unit. Furthermore, the display control step may include displaying predetermined marks corresponding to the respective condition flags associated with plural pieces of blood sugar level data indicated by the graphs in the way of being adjacent to the graphs.
Further, the display control step may include displaying an arithmetic value based on the measurement data recorded on the recording unit on the display. Still further, the display control step may include extracting a measurement data group exhibiting the same condition flag set by the condition flag setting unit from within the measurement data recorded on the recording unit, and displaying the arithmetic value about the extracted measurement data group on the display. Note that the average value of the blood sugar levels of the user for the predetermined period can be given by way of one example of this arithmetic value. Depending on the situation, median value may suitably be used as the arithmetic value.
Also in the thus-configured blood sugar level measured result display control program, as in the case of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus, the body condition of the user is reflected in the measured result and can be thus displayed on the display, whereby the convenience with which user manages the blood sugar level can be improved. It is to be noted that the technical idea disclosed with respect to the blood sugar level measuring apparatus can be similarly applied to the display control program according to the present invention.
Moreover, a computer readable recording medium recorded with the display control program is also embraced by the category of the present invention.
The measured result reflecting the body condition of the user when measuring the blood sugar level can be displayed, and the convenience with which user manages the blood sugar level can be improved.
A blood sugar level measuring apparatus according to a mode for carrying out the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings. Note that a configuration in the following embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration in the embodiment.
To be specific,
Further, as illustrated in
Further, an interior of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 is provided with control units for controlling a variety of processes executed therein. The control units provided as main control units in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 are, as imaged in
As described above, the control units of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 are built up mainly by the measurement control unit 20 which performs measurement control pertaining to the measurement of the blood sugar level, the management control unit 30 which conducts management control concerning items of information on the measured result, a flag, etc, that are managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, the display control unit 40 which carries out display control of the measurement result and the external communication unit 50 which performs control of the communications with the outside of the measuring apparatus, however, there is no inconvenience caused by taking a configuration including control units other than these control units. To be specific, the measurement control unit 20 includes a test strip checking unit 21, a blood sugar level measuring unit 22, a measured result recording unit 23 and a hypoglycemia alarm unit 24. The test strip checking unit 21 is a function unit that checks whether the test strip for measuring the blood sugar level described above is set on the side of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and is in a measurement-enabled status or not; and the blood sugar level measuring unit 22 is a function unit that measures the blood sugar level of the user on the basis of an output signal from the checked test strip. Furthermore, the measured result recording unit 23 is a function unit for saving and recording data of the measured result by the blood sugar level measuring unit 22 on a recording device (memory) within the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Moreover, the hypoglycemia alarm unit 24 is a function unit that notifies the user of an alarm saying that the measured result indicates hypoglycemia if the measured result is lower than a reference range related to a proper blood sugar level.
Further, the management control unit 30 includes a condition flag setting unit 31, an elapse time setting unit 32 and a parameter setting unit 33. The condition flag setting unit 31 is a function unit that sets a flag related to a body condition that affects the blood sugar level of the user when measuring the blood sugar level, and, though an in-depth description thereof will be made later on, the condition flag setting unit 31 sets the condition flags about a post-exercise condition, a pre-meal condition and a post-meal condition in the first working example. In the first working example, the elapse time setting unit 32 is a function unit that sets elapse time since a point of time when the meal has started on such an occasion that the condition flag setting unit 31 sets the condition flag of the post-meal condition, and details thereof will be mentioned later on. Note that a starting point of this elapse time may be a predetermined point of time during the meal and a point of time when the meal has finished. Moreover, the parameter setting unit 33 is a function unit that sets a variety of control parameters used in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. The parameters are exemplified by date/time used in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and a container unsealing date etc of the test strip. These function units possessed by the management control unit 30 enable the user to efficiently manage the measured result of the user's blood sugar level.
Further, the display control unit 40 includes a measurement graph display unit 41, a measurement average value display unit 42 and a measurement history display unit 43. The measurement graph display unit 41 is a function unit for displaying a graph of the measured results given by the measurement control unit 20. Moreover, the measurement average value display unit 42 is a function unit that displays an average value of the measurement values within a predetermined period in the measured results. Furthermore, the measurement history display unit 43 is a function unit that accesses the measured data recorded in the recording device of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and sequentially displays the measurement histories and even the detailed data thereof as the case may be. The displays of these function units possessed by the display control unit 40 are given on the liquid crystal screen 4 of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and enable the user to check transitions etc of the user's blood sugar level via the screen display.
Further, the external communication unit 50 is the control unit that transmits especially the measured results of the measurement control unit 20 and the information on the condition flags etc managed by the management control unit 30 to the outside of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. In the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 according to the present invention, the communication control of the external communication unit 50 is not the core element, and hence the present description restricts the discussion to the description that the external communication unit 50 exhibits the external communicating function, and an in-depth description thereof is omitted.
In the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, the variety of processes related to the measurements of the blood sugar levels of the user are realized by the measurement control unit 20, the management control unit 30 and the display control unit 40 respectively or by linking these respective control units with each other. Such being the case, hereafter, detailed contents of the processes will be described. At first, a blood sugar level measuring process executed by the measurement control unit 20 will be described based on
Similarly, the test strip checking unit 21 determines in S102 whether the test strip with its insertion being confirmed in S101 is within an expiration date or not. The test strip uses the GOD by way of oxidoreductase as described above, and therefore, if a fixed period elapses since the container stored with the test strip was unsealed, reactivity on the glucose in the blood declines with difficulty in properly measuring the blood sugar level, whereby it is preferable that the test strip is used for the measurement within the fixed period after being unsealed. Then, for instance, when unsealing a bottle hermetically containing a plurality of test strips, the user inputs unsealing date/time to the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 by operating the operation button 7, and the parameter setting unit 33 of the management control unit 30 sets, as an expiration date of the test strip, date/time after, e.g., six months since the unsealing date/time has been inputted. Accordingly, it follows that the determination in S102 is made based on whether the date/time when measured exceeds the thus-set expiration date or not. If determined to be affirmative in S102, the processing advances to S103, in which preparations for the measurement are made. Whereas if determined to be negative in S102, an attention of the user is evoked by saying that the test strip itself is not suited to the measurement of the blood sugar level, or alternatively the present blood sugar level measuring process is finished.
In S103, the blood sugar level measuring unit 22 checks whether or not a droplet of blood is adhered to the test strip. To be specific, the checking of whether the droplet of blood is adhered or not is conducted based on an output current from the sensor within the test strip, which is generated by the user's adhering the droplet of self-blood onto the test strip. The blood sugar level measuring unit 22 executes, with the confirmation that the droplet of blood is adhered, the predetermined processes for measuring the blood sugar level and finally measures a blood sugar level Vgl, and the measured result is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 (process in S104). Note that the technology of measuring the blood sugar level of the droplet of blood adhered onto the test strip is of the prior art, and hence an in-depth description thereof is omitted in the present description.
Herein,
Next, it is determined in S105 whether the blood sugar level Vgl measured in S104 is lower than a reference blood sugar level V0 or not. This reference blood sugar level V0 is a threshold value for determining the hypoglycemia and is a value that is preset on the side of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Then, if determined to be affirmative in S105, the processing advances to S106, in which the hypoglycemia alarm unit 24 notifies the user of the alarm indicating the hypoglycemia. To be specific, the characters “HYPO” are lit up together with the measured blood sugar level on the liquid crystal screen 4, thereby giving the notification of the hypoglycemia alarm. Moreover, whereas if determined to be negative in S105 or when the process in S106 is finished, the processing advances to S107. In S107, the measured result recording unit 23 records a value of the measured blood sugar level as the measured result on a recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. The measured result obtained by the blood sugar level measuring process is used for a measured result management process, a graph display process and a measurement history display process that will be described later on.
Next, the measured result management process executed by the condition flag setting unit 31 of the management control unit 30 will be described based on
In S202, in the status where the measurement value is displayed, when the user operates the operation button 7 to perform the displayed measurement, the condition flag corresponding to a condition of the user's body is selected. Specifically, the user selects, as the condition flag, any one of four flags, i.e., the post-exercise flag, the pre-meal flag, the post-meal flag and no condition flag, and it follows that the condition flag corresponding to this selection is recorded in the way of being associated with the displayed measurement value in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. These condition flags are flags related to the conditions of the user's body that have a strong relationship with the blood sugar level of the user. It is therefore highly useful in terms of managing the blood sugar level that the condition flag is associated with the-thus measured blood sugar level. Note that these condition flags respectively correspond to the icon Ic1 for the post-exercise flag, the icon Ic2 for the pre-meal flag, the first and second icons Ic3, Ic4 for the post-meal flag and non-display of icon illustrated in
It is determined in S203 whether the condition flag selected in S202 is the post-meal flag or not. Herein, the processing advances to S204 if determined to be affirmative but diverts to S208 whereas if determined to be negative.
In S204, an amount of meal corresponding to the post-meal flag is determined. Through this process, additional information about how much amount of meal the user has taken at the measurement can be associated with the post-meal flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. To be specific, for example, the user can set the amount of meal selectively from three types of percentages such as 50%, 80% and 100% if 100% is set based on user's subjectivity when satiated with the meal. Note that in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 according to the first working example, this selection of the post-meal flag is indicated by displaying the first icon Ic3 for the post-meal flag in the icon display region DR3 in
It is determined in S205 whether an elapse time counter is set in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 or not. The elapse time counter is a function set by the elapse time setting unit 32 of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 in advance of the measurement and is also a function of automatically counting the elapse time since a point of time when starting having the meal and associating this elapse time with the blood sugar level of the measured result. Note that this elapse time is displayed as the post-meal elapse time Et in the icon display region DR3 in
The setting is done in S206 so that the post-meal flag and the post-meal elapse time Et are simultaneously displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. With respect to the display of this post-meal flag, as described above, the first icon Ic3 and the second icon Ic4 for the post-meal flag come to the display status, and the bar count corresponding to the amount of meal is set in the second icon Ic4. On the other hand, the setting is done in S207 so that only the post-meal flag is displayed without displaying the post-meal elapse time Et.
Moreover, when the processing advances to S208 if determined to be negative in S203, the setting is done in S208 on the liquid crystal screen 4 so as to display the icon corresponding to any one of the pre-meal flag, the post-exercise flag and non-selection of the flag in the condition flags selected in S202. Specifically, when the pre-meal flag and the post-exercise flag are selected, it follows that the icon Ic2 for the pre-meal flag and the icon Ic1 for the post-exercise flag are respectively displayed in the icon display region DR3. If the flag is in the non-selection status, any icon corresponding to the condition flag is not displayed in the icon display region DR3.
By the way, in the example above, the determination of the amount of meal (S204) may be based on a more objective information, for example, a numerical data which represents “carbon counts” or calories of the meal taken by the user.
Here, a display of flags representing a state of energy intake of the user is also possible in the similar way as described in the example above. That is, for example, it may be determined as in S203, whether the condition flag selected in S202 is the pre-meal flag or not. Then as in S204, a level of the energy intake corresponding to the pre-meal flag can be determined. Through this process, additional information about how much the energy intake of the user is at the measurement can be associated with the pre-meal flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. To be specific, the user can set the level of energy intake selectively from multiple types of percentages based on user's energy intake. This selection of the pre-meal flag is indicated by displaying the first icon Ic2 for the pre-meal flag in the icon display region DR3 in
By the way, in the example above, the amount of meal or the level of the energy intake can be displayed alternatively to the first icon. That is, the amount of meal or the level of the energy intake can be displayed alternatively to the post-meal flag or the pre-meal flag. In this case, the measured result management process executed by the condition flag setting unit 31 of the management control unit 30 shown
As described above, according to the measured result management process, the data can be retained in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 by associating the measured blood sugar level with the condition flag related to the body condition of the user when measured, thereby facilitating the health management pertaining to the blood sugar level of the user. Especially also in a graph display process and a measurement history display process that will be described later on, the data useful for the health management using the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 can be displayed by making use of the condition flags associated with the measured blood sugar levels.
Next, the graph display process executed by the measurement graph display unit 41 of the management control unit 30 will be described based on
In S303, a bar graph is generated based on the latest data acquired by the blood sugar level measuring process and the most recent data for five times that are extracted in S302 in order to display the respective measured blood sugar levels in the form of the bar graph on the liquid crystal screen 4. Herein, the blood sugar level measuring apparatus is a portable apparatus, and therefore the liquid crystal screen 4 is comparatively small in size. Hence, a scheme is not that the bar graph is generated by making a size of the bar graph proportional to a magnitude itself of the measured blood sugar level but that the bar graph is displayed between a preset upper limit value and a preset lower limit value. With this scheme, the user gets easy to recognize a change per measurement of the blood sugar level even on the relatively small liquid crystal screen 4. Note that the bar graph generated in S303 is displayed in the graph display region DR1 depicted in
In S304, if the condition flags are attached to the most recent data for five times that are extracted in S302, a mark (symbol) corresponding to the type of the condition flag is determined in order to display this mark under the bar graph of each data. In the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 of the first working example, when the post-exercise flag, the pre-meal flag and the post-meal flag are selected as the condition flags, these flags are selected so that marks such as an asterisk (*) mark, a minus (−) mark and a plus (+) mark are arranged. Incidentally, if the condition flag is not selected, the display mark is not selected in S304. Upon finishing the process in S304, the processing advances to S305.
In S305, the bar graph generated in S303 and a screen (e.g., the screen illustrated in
Further,
According to the graph display process, the data of the blood sugar levels measured in the past are displayed by the bar graphs, and besides the marks corresponding to the condition flags are also displayed, whereby the user can easily recognize the body condition when measuring the blood sugar level to be measured together with the transitions of the blood sugar levels. Therefore, the health management related to the blood sugar level can be easily conducted. Further, as illustrated in
Next, the measurement history display process executed by the measurement average value display unit 42 and the measurement history display unit 43 of the display control unit 40, will be described based on
Next, the processes from S402 onward will be described. The processes from S402 onward are the processes that are executed by the measurement average value display unit 42. It is determined in S402 whether an average value display request is given from the user or not. Concretely, it is determined based on the user's operation of the operation button 7 whether the average value display request is given or not. Herein, if determined to be affirmative, the processing advances to S403, and, whereas if determined to be negative, the processes from S402 onward are again executed. It is determined in S403 whether a request for selecting the condition flag in displaying the average value is given from the user or not. To be specific, it is determined based on the user's operation of the operation button 7 whether the request for selecting the condition flag in displaying the average value is given from the user or not. Herein, the processing advances to S405 if determined to be affirmative and advances to S404 whereas if determined to be negative.
In S404, an average value of the data of all the measured blood sugar levels recorded on the recording device is displayed, and a display example thereof is illustrated in
Next, in S405, the data corresponding to the condition flags requested by the user to be selected in the data of all the measured blood sugar levels recorded on the recording device are extracted, then an average value of the extracted data is calculated and displayed, and a display example thereof is depicted in
Note that in the display process of
When finishing the process in S404 or S405, the measurement history display process comes to an end. Herein, in the measurement history display process, a freely switchable formation between the process in S404 and the process in S405 is also available. That is, the display of the average value of the blood sugar level corresponding to the condition flag selected in S404 and the display of the average value of the data of all the blood sugar levels in the recording device are set properly switchable by the user's operation, thereby further improving the convenience of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1.
According to the measurement history display process, the user can confirm, together with the condition flags, the arbitrary history of the measured results recorded in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Further, the average value of the past measured results can be confirmed separately per condition flag, and therefore the health management related to the blood sugar level can be easily conducted. Note that the period for calculating the average value can be also changed to an arbitrary period via the parameter setting unit 33.
Note that an alarm function of notifying the user of the time when measuring the blood sugar level may be incorporated into the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The user presets the measurement time, and a notification sound is thereby emitted just when reaching the preset time, thus making it possible to prevent the user from forgetting the measurement. Furthermore, if the user does not operate the apparatus for a fixed period of time in terms of restraining power consumption of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 may incorporate such a power consumption restraining function that the power source of the apparatus automatically comes into an OFF status, or an intensity of display illumination of the liquid crystal screen 4 is automatically decreased (darkened). The power consumption restraining function such as this is useful particularly for the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 as the portable apparatus. Further, instead of or together with the average value, median value may be used as the arithmetic value.
The present invention includes, as described above, a computer program for executing the blood sugar level measuring process, the measured result management process, the graph display process and the measurement history display process by way of the embodiment. Moreover, such a type of medium that this program is recorded on a computer readable recording medium also belongs to the category of the present invention. The computer is made to read and execute the program recorded on the recording medium, thereby enabling those respective processes to be carried out.
Herein, the computer readable recording medium connotes a recording medium capable of accumulating information such as data and programs electrically, magnetically, optically, mechanically or by chemical action, which can be read from the computer. Among these recording mediums, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magneto-optic disc, a CD-ROM, a CD-R/W, a DVD, a Blu-ray disc, a DAT, an 8 mm tape, a memory card, etc. are given as those removable from the computer. Further, a hard disc, a ROM (Read-Only Memory), etc. are given as the recording mediums fixed within the computer.
Next, the measured result management process executed by the condition flag setting unit 31 of the management control unit 30 according to a third working example will be described based on
In S502, in the status where the measurement value is displayed, on the occasion of making the measurement displayed therein, the user selects the condition flag corresponding to the body condition of the user by operating the operation button 7. To be specific, the user selects, as the condition flag(s), any one or more flags from within the pre-meal flag, the post-meal flag, the post-exercise flag, the post-insulin-dosing flag, the β-cell flag, the cholesterol flag, the HbA1C flag and no condition flag.
The user can make the selection about the amount of meal in the case of choosing the post-meal flag. Further, the user may input the amount of meal when choosing the post-meal flag. The user can make the selection concerning the amount of exercise in the case of selecting the post-exercise flag. The user may input the amount of exercise when selecting the post-exercise flag. The user can make the selection about the amount of insulin dosage in the case of choosing the post-insulin-dosing flag. The user may input the insulin dosage when selecting the post-insulin-dosing flag. The user can make the selections related to an amount of β cells and a change in amount of β cells in the case of choosing the β-cell flag. The user may input the amount of β cells and the change in amount of β cells when choosing the β-cell flag. The user can make the selections pertaining to an amount of cholesterol and a change in amount of cholesterol in the case of choosing the cholesterol flag. The user may input the amount of cholesterol and the change in amount of cholesterol when choosing the cholesterol flag. The user can make the selections about a HbA1C value and a change in HbA1C value in the case of choosing the HbA1C flag. The user may input the HbA1C value and the change in HbA1C value when selecting the HbA1C flag.
An operating example of the operation button 7 by the user is that the user operates the operation button 7 by sliding this button, with the result that the icons corresponding to the respective flags displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 and the marks indicating the amounts are sequentially changed over, and the user presses the operation button 7, with the result that the flags are selected. In the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 according to the third working example, to start with, the user operates the operation button 7 so as to slide the button, thereby displaying the icon corresponding to the pre-meal flag on the liquid crystal screen 4. In the status where the icon corresponding to the pre-meal flag is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 when the user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7, a changeover to the icon corresponding to the pre-meal flag is made, and the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. Then, in the status where the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4, when the user conducts the slide-operation of the operation button 7, the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag and the mark indicating the amount of meal are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. The mark indicating the amount of meal is the bar mark, in which an increase or a decrease in amount of meal is changed by incrementing or decrementing the number of bar marks. Specifically, the user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7, whereby a set of the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag and one length of bar mark, another set of the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag and two lengths of bar marks and still another set of the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag and three lengths of bar marks are displayed in the way of being sequentially changed over on the liquid crystal screen 4. The mark indicating the amount of meal is not, however, limited to the bar mark, and other types of marks are also available. Here, the operation above can be improved within the skill of the ordinary in the art so that the flag about the level of energy intake can be selected as the flag about the amount of meal with the similar way as those described above. Here, in this example, the flag about the amount of meal is selected after the selection of the post-meal flag. However, the flags which represent the amount or level of something such as those about the amount of meal or the energy intake may be set and displayed as the condition flags as the same rank as the other condition flags such as a pre-meal flag, a post-meal flag, amount of meal, energy intake, a post-exercise flag, a post-insulin-dosing flag, a β-cell flag, a cholesterol flag and a Hb (haemoglobin) A1c flag, etc. In such a case, the user may operate the operation button 7 by sliding this button, with the result that the flags are sequentially changed over, and the user presses the operation button 7, with the result that any one of the flags selected from the group of condition flags representing for example, a pre-meal flag, a post-meal flag, amount of meal, energy intake, a post-exercise flag, a post-insulin-dosing flag, a β-cell flag, a cholesterol flag and a Hb (haemoglobin) A1c flag is selected.
Then, in the status where the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag and the mark indicating the amount of meal are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4, when the user carries out the slide operation of the operation button 7, the display is changed over from the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag and the mark indicating the amount of meal, and the icon corresponding to the post-exercise flag is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. Subsequently, in the status where the icon corresponding to the post-exercise flag is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4, when the user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7, the icon corresponding to the post-exercise flag and the mark indicating the amount of exercise are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. Also with respect to the icon corresponding to the post-exercise flag and the mark indicating the amount of exercise, similarly the icon corresponding to the post-meal flag and the mark indicating the amount of meal, the user conducts the slide operation of the operation button 7, thereby changing the increase or the decrease in amount of exercise. Also in regard to a set of the icon corresponding to the insulin-dosing flag and the mark indicating the amount of insulin dosage, a set of the icon corresponding to the β-cell flag and the mark indicating the amount of β cells, a set of the icon corresponding to the cholesterol flag and the mark indicating the cholesterol value and a set of the icon corresponding to the HbA1C flag and the mark indicating the HbA1C value, the operations are the same as those with respect to the set of icon corresponding to the post-meal flag and the mark indicating the amount of meal. In the status where any icon is not displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4, when the user presses the operation button 7, no condition flag is selected. After the flag has been selected, the user removes the test strip from the test strip insertion groove 10, thereby establishing the selection of the flag.
The condition flag is the flag related to the body condition having the strong relationship with the blood sugar level of the user. It is therefore highly useful in terms of managing the blood sugar level to associate the thus-measured blood sugar level with the condition flag. Note that the post-exercise flag, the pre-exercise flag and the post-meal flag correspond to the icon Ic1 for the post-exercise flag, the icon Ic2 for the pre-meal flag, the first and second icons Ic3, Ic4 for the post-meal flag and non-display of the icon respectively, which are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 as well as being illustrated in
It is determined in S503 whether no condition flag is selected in S502 or not. Herein, the processing diverts to S504 if determined to be affirmative but advances to S505 whereas if determined to be negative.
The setting on the liquid crystal screen 4 is done in S504 so that any icons corresponding to the condition flags are not displayed in the graph display region DR1 and the icon display region DR3 depicted in
It is determined in S505 whether the pre-meal flag is selected in S502 or not. Herein, the processing diverts to S506 if determined to be affirmative but advances to S507 whereas if determined to be negative.
The setting on the liquid crystal screen 4 is done in S506 so that the icon corresponding to the pre-meal flag selected in S502 is displayed. Concretely, the setting is done so that the icon Ic2 for the pre-meal flag is displayed in the icon display region DR3. Upon an end of S506, the processing shifts to S521 (
It is determined in S507 whether the post-meal flag is selected in S502 or not. Herein, the processing advances to S508 if determined to be affirmative but diverts to S511A whereas if determined to be negative. Processes from S511A onward will be described later on.
In S508, the amount of meal corresponding to the post-meal flag is determined. The process executed in S508 is the same as the process carried out in S204 of the measured result management process explained in the first working example, and therefore its description is omitted. If an amount of ingested energy is inputted as the amount of meal in S502, the amount of ingested energy may also be determined as the amount of meal corresponding to the post-meal flag. Then, the amount of ingested energy determined as the amount of meal is recorded on the recording device within the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that in the process in S401 of the measurement history display process explained in the first working example, the user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7, whereby the amount of ingested energy recorded on the recording device within the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. Concretely, an amount of consumption energy is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. When finishing S508, the processing advances to S509.
It is determined in S509 whether the elapse time counter is set in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 or not. The process executed in S509 is the same as the process carried out in S205 of the measured result management process explained in the first working example, and hence the description thereof is omitted. The processing advances to S510 if determined to be affirmative in S509 but diverts to S511 whereas if determined to be negative.
The setting is done in S510 so that the icon of the post-meal flag and the post-meal elapse time Et are simultaneously displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. To be specific, the setting is done so that the first icon Ic3 and the second icon Ic4 for the post-meal flag and the post-meal elapse time Et are displayed in the icon display region DR3. The number of bars within the second icon Ic4 for the post-meal flag is set corresponding to the amount of meal. Upon an end of S510, the processing advances to S521. On the other hand, the setting is done in S511 so that the post-meal elapse time Et is not displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4, while the first icon Ic3 and the second icon Ic4 for the post-meal flag are displayed in the icon display region DR3. The number of bars within the second icon Ic4 for the post-meal flag is set corresponding to the amount of meal. Upon an end of S511, the processing advances to S521.
Processes from S511A (
In S512, the amount of exercise corresponding to the post-exercise flag is determined. Through this process, the accompanying data on how much amount of exercise the user has done when making the measurement can be associated with the post-exercise flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For example, the user can set the amount of exercise selectively from three types such as 100% given when taking the exercise for 60 min or longer, 80% given when taking the exercise for 30 min or longer but within 60 min and 50% given when taking the exercise within 30 min. The post-exercise flag is selected, as illustrated in
Further, the amount of exercise may be set selectively from three types such as 100% given when walking, e.g., 10,000 or more steps, 80% given when walking 8,000 steps or more but less than 10,000 steps and 50% given when walking 8,000 steps or less. The blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 may incorporate a pedometer which counts the number of steps of the user, and the user may also carry the pedometer. In the process of S401 of the measurement history display process explained in the first working example, the user conducts the slide operation of the operation button 7, thereby displaying the icons imitating the sweats on the liquid crystal screen 4. Concretely, the icon Ic1 for the post-exercise flag is displayed in the icon display region DR3, and the icons imitating the sweats are displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1.
The number of steps of the user is inputted as the amount of exercise in S502, in which case the number of steps of the user may be determined as the amount of exercise corresponding to the post-exercise flag. Then, the number of steps of the user determined as the amount of exercise is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Moreover, the number of steps of the user is converted into a quantity of energy consumption, and this quantity of energy consumption may be determined as the amount of exercise corresponding to the post-exercise flag. Then, the quantity of energy consumption determined as the amount of exercise is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. If the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 incorporates the pedometer, at the point of time when the post-exercise flag is selected in S502, the number of steps of the user and the quantity of energy consumption may also be recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that the user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process explained in the first working example, whereby the number of steps of the user and the quantity of energy consumption recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. Specifically, the number of steps of the user and the quantity of energy consumption are displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. Upon finishing S512, the processing advances to S513.
It is determined in S513 whether the elapse time counter is set in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 or not. The elapse time counter is a function set by the elapse time setting unit 32 of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 in advance of the measurement and is also a function of automatically counting the elapse time since the point of time when starting the exercise and associating the elapse time with the blood sugar level given as the measured result. Note that this elapse time is displayed as post-exercise elapse time Ft in the icon display region DR3 in
The setting is done in S514 so that the icon corresponding to the post-exercise flag and the post-exercise elapse time Ft are simultaneously displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. The setting is made so that the icon Ic1 for the post-exercise flag and the post-exercise elapse time Ft are displayed in the icon display region DR3, while the icons imitating the sweats are displayed in the graph display region DR1. The number of icons imitating the sweats is set corresponding to the amount of exercise. Furthermore, the setting may be done so as to display the post-exercise elapse time Ft in the graph display region DR1. When S514 comes to an end, the processing advances to S521. While on the other hand, the setting is made in S515 so that the post-exercise elapse time Ft is not displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4, the icon Ic1 for the post-exercise flag is displayed in the icon display region DR3, and the icons imitating the sweats are displayed in the graph display region DR1. The number of icons imitating the sweats is set corresponding to the amount of exercise. Upon finishing S515, the processing advances to S521.
Described next is a case in which the negative determination is made in S511A and the processing advances to S516. It is determined in S516 whether the post-insulin-dosing flag is selected or not. Herein, the processing advances to S517 if determined to be affirmative but diverts to S521 whereas if determined to be negative.
In S517, the amount of dosage of insulin, which corresponds to the post-insulin-dosing flag, is determined. Owing to this process, the accompanying data on how much amount of dosage of insulin the user has taken when making the measurement can be associated with the post-insulin-dosing flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For example, the amount of dosage of insulin may be set selectively from three types such as “the amount of dosage of insulin being large” if the amount of dosage of insulin is larger than a predetermined quantity, “the amount of dosage of insulin being the same” if the amount of dosage of insulin is substantially the same as the predetermined quantity, and “the amount of dosage of insulin being small” if the amount of dosage of insulin is smaller than the predetermined quantity. The predetermined quantity is a value that can be arbitrarily set by the user.
The post-insulin-dosing flag is, as depicted in
The user conducts the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process explained in the first working example, whereby the icon Ic5 related to the post-insulin-dosing flag and the icon Ic6 related to the amount of dosage of insulin are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. Concretely, the icon Ic5 related to the post-insulin-dosing flag and the icon Ic6 related to the amount of dosage of insulin are displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1.
If the amount of dosage (unit) of insulin is inputted in S502, the amount of dosage (unit) of insulin is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that the user carries out the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the amount of dosage (unit) of insulin, which is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, on the liquid crystal screen 4. To be specific, the amount of dosage (unit) of insulin is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. When finishing S517, the processing advances to S518.
It is determined in S518 whether the elapse time counter is set in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 or not. The elapse time counter is the function set by the elapse time setting unit 32 of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 in advance of the measurement and is also the function of automatically counting the elapse time since the point of time when dosing the insulin and associating the elapse time with the blood sugar level given as the measured result. Note that this elapse time is displayed as post-insulin-dosing elapse time Gt in the icon display region DR3 in
The setting is done in S519 so that the icon corresponding to the post-insulin-dosing flag and the post-insulin-dosing elapse time Gt are simultaneously displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. The setting is made so that the post-insulin-dosing elapse time Gt is displayed in the icon display region DR3, while the icon Ic5 related to the post-insulin-dosing flag and the icon Ic6 related to the amount of dosage of insulin are displayed in the graph display region DR1. The number of bars within the icon Ic6 related to the amount of dosage of insulin is set corresponding to the amount of dosage of insulin. Upon an end of S519, the processing advances to S521. While on the other hand, the setting is done in S520 so that the post-insulin-dosing elapse time Gt is displayed neither in the graph display region DR1 nor in the icon display region DR3, while the icon Ic5 related to the post-insulin-dosing flag and the icon Ic6 related to the amount of dosage of insulin are displayed in the graph display region DR1. The number of bars within the icon Ic6 related to the amount of dosage of insulin is set corresponding to the amount of dosage of insulin. Upon an end of S520, the processing advances to S521.
Processes from S521 (
In S522, an amount of β cells corresponding to the β-cell flag is determined. Owing to this process, the accompanying data on the amount of β cells of the user when making the measurement can be associated with the β-cell flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For instance, the amount of β cells may be set selectively from three types such as “the amount of β cells being large” if the amount of β cells is larger than a predetermined quantity, “the amount of β cells being the same” if the amount of β cells is substantially the same as the predetermined quantity, and “the amount of β cells being small” if the amount of β cells is smaller than the predetermined quantity. The predetermined quantity is a value that can be arbitrarily set by the user. The amount of β cells may also be measured by the known technology.
The selection of the β-cell flag and the selection of the amount of β cells are, as illustrated in
The user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, whereby the icon Ic7 related to the β-cell flag is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4. Specifically, the icon Ic7 related to the β-cell flag is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1.
If the amount of β cells is inputted in S502, the amount of β cells is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that the user carries out the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the amount of β cells, which is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, on the liquid crystal screen 4. To be specific, the amount of β cells is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. When finishing S522, the processing advances to S523.
In S523, a change in amount of β cells corresponding to the β-cell flag is determined. Through this process, the accompanying data on the change in amount of β cells of the user when making the measurement can be associated with the β-cell flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For example, a change in amount of β cells may be set selectively from three types such as “the amount of β cells being UP” if the amount of β cells in measuring the blood sugar level this time is larger than the amount of β cells in measuring the blood sugar level last time, “the amount of β cells being the SAME” if the amount of β cells (of this time) is substantially the same as the amount of β cells (of the last time) and “the amount of β cells being DOWN” if the amount of β cells (of this time) is smaller than the amount of β cells (of the last time).
The change in amount of β cells is, as illustrated in
The user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the icon Ic7 related to the β-cell flag and the information representing the change in amount of β cells on the liquid crystal screen 4. To be specific, the icon Ic7 related to the β-cell flag and the information representing the change in amount of β cells are displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1.
If the amount of β cells is inputted in S502, the amount of β cells is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that the user carries out the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the amount of β cells, which is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, on the liquid crystal screen 4. Concretely, the amount of β cells is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. When finishing S523, the processing advances to S524.
It is determined in S524 whether the cholesterol flag is selected in S502 or not. Herein, the processing advances to S525 if determined to be affirmative but diverts to S527 whereas if determined to be negative.
In S525, a cholesterol value corresponding to the cholesterol flag is determined. Owing to this process, the accompanying data on the cholesterol value of the user when making the measurement can be associated with the cholesterol flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. The cholesterol value may be anyone of a total cholesterol (T-chol) value, an HDL cholesterol (HDL-chol) value and an LDL cholesterol (LDL-chol) value. For instance, the cholesterol value may set selectively from three types such as “the cholesterol value of the user being higher than a predetermined value”, “the cholesterol value of the user being substantially the same as the predetermined value” and “the cholesterol value of the user being lower than the predetermined value”. The predetermined value is a value that can be arbitrarily set by the user. The cholesterol value may also be measured by the known technology.
The selection of the cholesterol flag and the selection of the cholesterol value are, as illustrated in
The user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the icon Ic8 related to the cholesterol flag on the liquid crystal screen 4. Concretely, the icon Ic8 related to the cholesterol flag is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1.
If the cholesterol value is inputted in S502, the cholesterol value is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that the user carries out the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the cholesterol value, which is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, on the liquid crystal screen 4. To be specific, the cholesterol value is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. Upon finishing S525, the processing advances to S526.
In S526, a change in cholesterol value corresponding to the cholesterol flag is determined. Owing to this process, the accompanying data on the change in cholesterol value of the user when making the measurement can be associated with the cholesterol flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For instance, the change in cholesterol value may be set selectively from three types such as “the cholesterol value being UP” if the cholesterol value in measuring the blood sugar level this time is larger than the cholesterol value in measuring the blood sugar level last time, “the cholesterol value being the SAME” if the cholesterol value (of this time) is substantially the same as the cholesterol value (of the last time) and “the cholesterol value being DOWN” if the cholesterol value (of this time) is smaller than the cholesterol value (of the last time).
The change in cholesterol value is, as illustrated in
The user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the icon Ic8 related to the cholesterol flag and the information representing the change in cholesterol value on the liquid crystal screen 4. Concretely, the icon Ic8 related to the cholesterol flag and the information representing the change in cholesterol value are displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1.
If the cholesterol value is inputted in S502, the cholesterol value is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that the user carries out the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the cholesterol value, which is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, on the liquid crystal screen 4. To be specific, the cholesterol value is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. Upon finishing S526, the processing advances to S527.
It is determined in S527 whether the cholesterol flag is selected in S502 or not. Herein, if determined to be affirmative, the processing advances to S528, and, whereas if determined to be negative, the measured result management process is terminated.
In S528, the HbA1C value corresponding to the HbA1C flag is determined. Owing to this process, the accompanying data on the HbA1C value of the user when making the measurement can be associated with the HbA1C flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For instance, the HbA1C value may be set selectively from three types such as “the user's HbA1C value being higher than a predetermined value”, “the user's HbA1C value being substantially the same as the predetermined value” and “the user's HbA1C value being lower than the predetermined value”. The predetermined value is a value that can be arbitrarily set by the user. The HbA1C value may also be measured by the known technology.
The selection of the HbA1C flag and the selection of the HbA1C value are, as illustrated in
The user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the icon Ic9 related to the HbA1C flag on the liquid crystal screen 4. Specifically, the icon Ic9 related to the HbA1C flag is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1.
If the HbA1C value is inputted in S502, the HbA1C value is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that the user carries out the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the HbA1C value, which is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, on the liquid crystal screen 4. To be specific, the HbA1C value is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. Upon finishing S528, the processing advances to S529.
In S529, a change in HbA1C value corresponding to the HbA1C flag is determined. Owing to this process, the accompanying data on the change in HbA1C value of the user when making the measurement can be associated with the HbA1C flag set by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For instance, the change in HbA1C value may be set selectively from three types such as “the HbA1C value being UP” if the HbA1C value in measuring the blood sugar level this time is larger than the HbA1C value in measuring the blood sugar level last time, “the HbA1C value being the SAME” if the HbA1C value (of this time) is substantially the same as the HbA1C value (of the last time) and “the HbA1C value being DOWN” if the HbA1C value (of this time) is smaller than the HbA1C value (of the last time).
The change in HbA1C value is, as illustrated in
The user performs the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the icon Ic9 related to the HbA1C flag and the information representing the change in HbA1C value on the liquid crystal screen 4. Concretely, the icon Ic9 related to the HbA1C flag and the information representing the change in HbA1C value are displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1.
If the HbA1C value is inputted in S502, the HbA1C value is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. Note that the user carries out the slide operation of the operation button 7 in the process of S401 of the measurement history display process described in the first working example, thereby displaying the HbA1C value, which is recorded on the recording device in the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, on the liquid crystal screen 4. To be specific, the HbA1C value is displayed together with the identification number and the measurement date/time of the measured result in the graph display region DR1. Upon finishing S529, the measured result management process is terminated.
The graph display region DR1 of the liquid crystal screen 4 is configured to include dot display elements arrayed in matrix, and therefore the icons and the marks displayed in the graph display region DR1 of the liquid crystal screen 4 can be changed without any restriction. Accordingly, the icons and the marks displayed in the graph display region DR1 of the liquid crystal screen 4 are not limited to the shapes and patterns of the icons and marks explained in the third working example but can adopt a variety of shapes and patterns. It is to be noted that various items of information can be, without being limited to the icons and marks, displayed in the graph display region DR1 of the liquid crystal screen 4. Further, in the third working example, the whole of the graph display regions DR1, the DR2 and the DR3 of the liquid crystal screen 4 may be configured to include the dot display elements arrayed in matrix. With this configuration, it is feasible to change, without any restriction, the icons and the marks displayed in the graph display region DR1, the DR2 and the DR3 of the liquid crystal screen 4. Accordingly, the icons and marks displayed in the graph display regions DR1, the DR2 and the DR3 of the liquid crystal screen 4 can adopt the variety of shapes and patterns without being limited to the shapes and the patterns of the icons and the marks described in the third working example. Further, the various items of information can be, without being limited to the icons and the marks, displayed in the graph display region DR1 of the liquid crystal screen 4. For example, the information displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 may also be displayed as a dynamic or moving image such as animation.
<System Architecture>
Next, the management information matching process executed by the management control unit 30 will be described based on
It is determined in S602 whether or not the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 matches with the information managed by the computer 70. The information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and the information managed by the computer 70 are every category of biometric information managed with respect to the blood sugar level such as the amount of β-cells, the cholesterol value and the HbA1C value. The determination how much the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 is matched with the information managed by the computer 70 may be made based on partial matching or complete matching. Further, even if the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 is not completely matched with the information managed by the computer 70 but if the information managed by the computer 70 falls within an allowable range, it may be determined that these pieces of information are matched with each other. If determined to be affirmative in S602, such a message is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 as to purport that the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 is matched with the information managed by the computer 70, and the management information matching process is finished. Whereas if determined to be negative in S602, the processing advances to S603.
In S603, such information is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 as to indicate discrepancy between the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and the information managed by the computer 70. For example, if there is discrepancy, such that some items managed by the computer 70 are not managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, between the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and the information managed by the computer 70, such a message is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 as to purport that the management items of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 are deficient (or excessive). The management items are individual pieces of information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and include, e.g., the pieces of data themselves such as the blood sugar level and the amount of β cells managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, and data names as well. Upon finishing the process in S603, the processing advances to S604.
It is determined in S604 whether or not the management items of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 are changed (added or deleted) with respect to discrepant pieces of information between the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and the information managed by the computer 70. For instance, the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 and the information managed by the computer 70 are listed, and such a message is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 4 as to indicate whether the management items of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 are changed or not. The user determines by operating the operation button 7 whether a process of changing the management items is established or not. The user can select the information that should be changed (added or deleted) and the information that should not be changed (added or deleted) with respect to the plurality of discrepant management items between the information managed by the computer 70 and the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For example, when the amount of β cells and the cholesterol value other than the blood sugar level are displayed as the information managed by the computer 70 on the liquid crystal screen 4, the amount of β cells may be added to the memory, but the cholesterol value may not be added to the memory. If determined to be affirmative in S604, the processing advances to S605. Whereas if determined to be negative in S604, the management information matching process comes to an end.
With respect to the management items determined or selected in S604, the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 is changed (added or deleted) in S605. Concretely, the management items determined or selected in S604 are added to the memory of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, and the management items determined or selected in S604 are deleted from the memory of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. With this process, the information managed by the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 can be matched with at least a part of the information managed by the computer 70. The management items of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 can be thereby properly changed in a way that adds the items desired to be managed especially also by the user according to the request in the items managed by the computer 70 installed at, e.g., the hospital. Note that if the information on the flag is newly changed in the memory of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, the management control unit 30 properly reads the predetermined flag information from the memory into a predetermined location, and this information is displayed in the graph display region DR1.
The management information matching process executed by the management control unit 30 may be carried out in such a way that the user, e.g., inputs the information directly to the memory of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. For instance, the user operates the operation button 7 and a separately provided operation means, whereby the information managed by the computer 70 and the information on the blood sugar level may also be inputted to the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1. As described above, after the information on the flag has been newly changed in the memory of the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1, the management control unit 30 properly reads the predetermined flag information from the memory into the predetermined location, and the readout information is displayed in the graph display region DR1.
It is to be noted that the dot display unit capable of displaying the icons without the restrictions is limited to the graph display region DR1 in the working examples discussed above, however, the liquid crystal screen 4 is configured to enable the dot display to be attained on the whole and may also be configured to enable the desired flag to be displayed properly. Note that the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 can, in the case of taking the configuration capable of changing the flag as described above, record the measurement data corresponding to the flag to be changed (added/deleted) on the recording unit.
Note that the blood sugar level measuring apparatus 1 can be configured to match at least a part of the management information with information in another blood sugar level measuring apparatus by the same mechanism as described above.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-093575 | Apr 2010 | JP | national |
This is a continuation of Application PCT/JP2011/059316, filed on Apr. 14, 2011, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-093575 filed on Apr. 14, 2010, the contents of which are herein wholly incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2011/059316 | Apr 2011 | US |
| Child | 13651037 | US |
