Patent Application
20100331645
The present invention generally relates to methods and systems for wireless communication between a blood glucose meter and a portable communication device, and specifically, to methods and systems which wirelessly transmit the result of a blood glucose measurement from the meter to the portable communication device.
As background, persons with diabetes suffer from either Type I or Type II diabetes in which the glucose level in the blood is not properly regulated by the body. As a consequence, many persons with diabetes often carry specialized electronic meters, called blood glucose (bG) meters, to allow them to periodically measure their glucose level and take appropriate action, such as administering insulin. In addition to the bG meter, users may also carry a portable communication device (PCD), such as a cellular phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or similar device.
Often people rely on their PCD as the primary means for planning, scheduling, and communicating. As a result, most PCDs are equipped with a variety of application software which provides a powerful and user-friendly means for viewing and/or inputting data. For example, many PCDs contain a “calendar” function which permits the user to input appointments as well as alerts the user when appointments are due.
Accordingly, a person with diabetes may wish to wirelessly transmit the result of a bG measurement from his bG meter to his PCD in order to, for example, display and/or store the bG measurement result.
In one embodiment, a blood glucose measuring system comprises a blood glucose (bG) meter and a portable communication device (PCD). The blood glucose meter comprises a measurement module and a wireless module, wherein the measurement module measures the blood glucose level of a blood sample, the wireless module is an embeddable module and communicates to the measurement module via a serial interface and wirelessly to the portable communication device. The portable communication device receives information from the blood glucose meter related to the blood glucose measurement.
In another embodiment, a method is disclosed for establishing wireless communication between a blood glucose (bG) meter and a portable communication device (PCD), wherein the bG meter comprises a measurement module and a wireless module, wherein the measurement module measures the blood glucose level of a blood sample, and the wireless module is an embeddable module and communicates to the measurement module via a serial interface. The method comprises switching on power to the bG meter and the PCD, sending a pairing beacon by the bG meter to the PCD, wherein the pairing beacon comprises information related to a type of the bG meter and a serial number of the bG meter, receiving the pairing beacon by the PCD, determining whether the PCD will establish wireless communication to the bG meter based on the type and the serial number of the bG meter, sending a response to the pairing beacon by the PCD to the bG meter indicating whether the PCD will establish wireless communication to the bG meter, and indicating on the bG meter whether the wireless communication was established.
In yet another embodiment, a method is disclosed for wirelessly communicating a result of a blood glucose measurement between a blood glucose (bG) meter and a portable communication device (PCD), wherein the bG meter comprises a measurement module and a wireless module, wherein the measurement module measures the blood glucose level of a blood sample, and the wireless module is an embeddable module and communicates to the measurement module via a serial interface. The method comprises inserting a measurement strip into the bG meter, wherein the measurement strip has a sample of the blood to be measured, measuring the bG level of the blood sample by the measurement module of the bG meter, serially sending a result of the bG level measurement by the measurement module to the wireless module, wirelessly sending the result of the measurement by wireless module of the bG meter to the PCD, and displaying the result of the measurement on the PCD.
These and additional features provided by the embodiments of the present invention will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings.
The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the inventions defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which:
The embodiments described herein generally relate to methods and systems for wireless communication between a blood glucose meter and a portable communication device, and specifically, to methods and systems which wirelessly transmit the result of a blood glucose measurement from the bG meter to the portable communication device.
For the purposes of this specification, wireless communication refers to the transmission of data or information without the use of physical conductors or “wires.” One type of wireless communication may be radio frequency, or “RF,” in which the data is transmitted via electromagnetic waves. For example, “Bluetooth” is one type of wireless RF communication system which uses a frequency of approximately 2.4 Gigahertz (GHz). Another type of wireless communication scheme may use infrared light, such the systems supported by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA). Other types of wireless communication are also contemplated, including present technologies and yet-to-be developed technologies.
Also for the purposes of this specification, a portable communication device (PCD) may include any type of battery-powered device which permit people to wirelessly communicate via voice and/or data to other people. Examples of PCDs include but are not limited to cellular phones, smart phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Many of these PCDs may use a wireless cellular network, such as the 3G (third generation) telecommunications standard. Other wireless networks and/or communication schemes may be used, as is known in the art.
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In an alternative embodiment, the wireless module 34 may further comprise a memory subsystem 34F that temporarily stores data moving between the measurement module and the wireless module 34. In some embodiments, the memory subsystem 34F does not control other circuitry, and in some such embodiments the memory subsystem 34F may be provided in the form of a conventional memory device (e.g., a static random access memory (RAM)). In other embodiments in which the memory subsystem 34F does or does not control other circuitry, the memory subsystem 34F may be provided in the form of a conventional processor that is configured to operate as a Dual-Port RAM (DPR) processor. In such embodiments, the DPR processor operates from a clock signal that is separate from clock signal from which the communication controller 34A operates. In one embodiment, such a DPR processor is a MC9S08GT16A 8-bit microcontroller unit that is commercially available from Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. of Austin, Tex., although this disclosure contemplates other implementations of the memory subsystem 34F that is provided in the form of a conventional processor configured as a DPR processor.
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In another embodiment, the PCD may pose a confirmation request 54 to the user, which would allow the user the option of proceeding with or cancelling the establishment of communication. As an example, the confirmation request 54 may appear on the display of the PCD and may indicate the model number and serial number of the user's bG meter. The user may observe this displayed information and determine whether to permit the establishment of communication.
In still another embodiment, the PCD may already contain the model number and serial number of the bG meter. This information may be input by the user to the PCD during a setup procedure. In this embodiment, communication between the PCD and the bG meter may automatically be established, without any input from the user, since the PCD already has the information which determines whether the link will be established or not.
The establishment of communication (between the bG module and the PCD) may conform with the requirements of the communication technology being used. For example, if the Bluetooth system is used for the wireless communication, the bG meter and the PCD may be required to conform to the requirements of the Bluetooth specification. As an example, the Bluetooth specification may require that the pairing beacon be transmitted at a specific frequency, while subsequent messages be transmitted at a different frequency. Furthermore, the bG module and/or the PCD may include a timer which requires the communication to be established within a predetermined time interval, such as 60 seconds. If the link is not established before the expiration of this timer, further communication may be prohibited until the power on the PCD and/or bG meter is cycled.
The transmitted pairing beacon 52 may comprise a number of bytes which relate to information about the bG meter. For example, the pairing beacon 52 may comprise six bytes for the serial number of the meter and two bytes for the module number of the meter. Additionally, two bytes may be used to indicate the version number of the software and/or hardware. Still other bytes may represent the version of the wireless interface between the bG meter and the PLD.
Upon establishment of communication, the bG module and the PCD may be able to transmit data to each other. This communication link may still exist, even though it may be temporarily unable for data to be transmitted due to, for example, the devices being out of range or a third device interfering with the communication link. In these cases, the devices may automatically re-establish the link once they are back in range or the interfering device is removed.
The transmitted result of the blood glucose measurement (transmitted at step 66) may comprise a number of bytes related to the result. For example, two bytes may represent the result itself (e.g., 0 to 999 mg/dL), two bytes may identify the measurement strip, five bytes may represent the result's timestamp (e.g., date and time), and one byte may be used for flags (e.g., low battery). Other bytes may be used as is known in the art.
Before the result of the blood glucose measurement is transmitted to the PCD, the bG meter may store the result (and its corresponding timestamp) in its non-volatile memory. Furthermore, the bG meter may store any number of previous results. For example, the bG meter may store the previous 500 results in its non-volatile memory. Likewise, after the result is transmitted to the PCD, the PCD may store the result in its non-volatile memory. In addition, the PCD may store any number of previous results. Furthermore, the PCD may wireless transmit a result to another device, person, or database via its wireless network (e.g., 3G cellular network). For example, the PCD may transmit the result to a database accessible by the user and/or the user's health care provider. In this fashion, a historical record of the results of the blood glucose measurements can be automatically maintained. As another example, if the result exceeds a predetermined value, the PCD may send the result and/or a message directly to the user's health care provider. In addition to the result of the blood glucose measurement, the PCD may also contemporaneously transmit (to another device, person, or database) additional information, such as but not limited to the timestamp of the result or the location of the user (e.g., from a global positioning system or GPS).
One parameter which may be adjusted via the setup procedure 70 is the synchronization of the time-of-day clock between the bG meter and the PCD. The time-of-day clock maintains the current the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second. This information may help “timestamp” each blood glucose measurement. In one embodiment, both the bG meter and the PCD may contain a time-of-day clock. Due to variations in electrical components, these two clocks may not match precisely. The user may have the ability to determine when and/or how often the two clocks are synchronized. For example, the user may specify that the bG time-of-day clock be adjusted to match the PCD time-of-day clock every time a blood glucose measurement is performed. Alternatively, the bG clock may be adjusted to match the PCD clock at specific intervals, such as every hour. It should be noted that the PCD clock may also be periodically synchronized to a time-of-day clock from another source, such as the cellular phone service provider.
The communication link between the bG meter and PCD may be disestablished by a number of methods. First, either the bG meter and/or the PCD may be switched off. Second, the user may request either to the bG meter or PCD that the link be disestablished. On the bG meter, this may be accomplished, for example, by pressing a button. On the PCD, this may be accomplished, for example, by pressing a button or by selecting an appropriate set up procedure.
Although at least two basic categories of messages (result of blood glucose measurement and setup procedures) have been described herein, it is contemplated that other types of messages may be used as well. These may include messages which facilitate the fundamental operation of the wireless communication link, called physical-layer (PL) messages. For example, a PL message may be sent by either the PCD or the bG meter which asks the other device to increase its power level for transmitting messages. This message, in turn, may be transmitted due to poor quality of a received message. Furthermore, application-layer (AL) messages may be sent as well. These may include, as an example, an AL message from the PCD to the bG meter asking for the status of its battery. Other AL messages may include a request to transmit historical information from the PCD to the bG meter or a request to temporarily suspend communication (due to, for example, regulations when traveling on a plane). Both PL and AL messages may comprise a suitable number of data bytes, as is known in the art. In short, many types of messages not explicitly described herein may be transmitted between the PCD and the bG meter.
Furthermore, the communication link may employ security means in order to discourage other people from viewing and/or modifying the messages. As an example, the PCD and bG meter may use technology in order to encrypt the messages set between them. Such a system may use encryption technology that is known in the art or is yet to be developed. This type of security may be sufficient to satisfy any state or federal regulations which require that health care information be kept secure.
In addition to the wireless communication between the bG meter and the PCD, there may be serial communication between the measurement module and the wireless module of the bG meter. Since the wireless module is an embeddable module, and since both the measurement module and the wireless module each have their own respective controllers, they may operate independently of each other.
Although the embodiments described herein indicate that a single bG meter may wirelessly communicate with a PCD, it is also contemplated that additional meters and/or electronic devices may also wirelessly communicate with the same PCD at the same time. For example, a user may have a PCD, a bG meter, and the blood pressure meter. Both the bG meter and/or the blood pressure meter may wireless communicate with the PCD. As another example, a user may have a PCD and two bG meters (e.g., one for himself and one for his spouse or child). In this case, both bG meters may wirelessly communicate with the PCD at the same time.
It should now be understood that the methods and systems described herein may permit wireless communication between a blood glucose (bG) meter and a portable communication device (PCD). Specifically, the methods may allow the bG meter and the PCD to initially establish a communication link. Furthermore, the methods may also allow the bG meter to transmit the result of a blood glucose measurement to the PCD, which may display the result of the measurement to the user.
While particular embodiments and aspects of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Moreover, although various inventive aspects have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
