Abstract:
A method and apparatus for a plug-in apparatus to provide server-transmission from a sensor, monitor, or device (SMD), the plug-in apparatus comprising an interface to automatically receive data from the SMD, without interfering or affecting SMD functionality, and a transmitter to wirelessly transmit the data from the SMD to a remote server, the data from the SMD representing monitoring results.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to monitors, and more particular to obtaining data from real-time monitors. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Various manufacturers are starting to introduce health monitors that are non-invasive. For example, the Glucoband by Calisto Medical is a compact electronic scanning device that utilizes a bio-electromagnetic resonance phenomenon to non-invasively measure blood glucose levels in the human body, and to continuously monitor the blood glucose level. These devices are designed to stay on the user&#39;s body, and periodically provide testing and test results. The wrist-watch-like Glucoband, for example, includes a fully integrated LCD screen, and can provide continuous monitoring. The results of the testing and monitoring are output on the integrated LCD screen. Such monitoring devices are becoming more and more common, ranging from health monitors to environmental monitors, weather, traffic, and other monitors. 
     The prior art system is thus designed to provide real-time data to the patient. However, it may be advantageous to provide the ability for a doctor, or other professional, to monitor the trends and historical data from such devices. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A method and apparatus to provide a server to collect data from continuously-used monitors is described, the server capable of storing historical data and making historical data, and data analysis available. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which: 
         FIGS. 1A-F  are block diagrams of various embodiments of the monitor and sending logic. 
         FIGS. 2A-B  illustrate one exemplary external capture mechanism. 
         FIGS. 3A-B  illustrate exemplary internal capture mechanisms. 
         FIGS. 4A-B  illustrate two exemplary external capture mechanisms. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary integrated capture mechanism. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computer system which may be used with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The method and apparatus described is designed to be integrated with, or used in conjunction with, continuous monitors. These continuous monitors may be health monitors, such as the wristwatch glucose monitor, environmental monitors, such as monitors that measure salination levels in rivers, or other monitors that provide continuous, or pseudo-continuous data. In general, these devices were designed to provide real-time data on a local output, such as an integrated LCD screen. The present invention is focused on providing a way to save this real-time data, and enable review of historical data, and data trends at a later time. 
       FIG. 1A  is a block diagram of one embodiment of the monitor and sending logic. Note that while the term “real-time monitor” is used, the term applies to any sensor, monitor, device (SMD) which is periodically updated with actual data derived from its environment. For example, a real-time monitor may be a health monitor (such as a heart monitor or glucose monitor), an environmental monitor (such as a wind or rain monitor), state, or other type of monitor, sensor, or device. 
     The actual form factor, manufacturer, and output mechanism of the real-time monitor  102  is irrelevant to the functioning of the present invention. However, the customized interface  104  is designed to be fitted for the particular monitor  102 . In one embodiment, the customized interface  104  may use the output mechanism of the real-time monitor  102 . Alternatively, the customized interface  104  may be more closely related to the real-time monitor  104 . The customized interface  104  obtains the data from the real-time monitor  102 . The transmitter  106 , which may include a receiver as well in one embodiment, then sends the data from the real-time monitor  102  to a remote server  108 . The remote server  108 , in one embodiment, integrates the data from the real-time monitor  102  to create a virtual monitor which includes the pseudo-real-time data just received, as well as historical data. 
     In one embodiment, data is sent to the remote server using WiFi (wireless fidelity), SMS (short message service), MMS (multimedia message service), Network protocols like email (electronic mail) and IM (instant messaging), MAN (metropolitan area network), LAN (local area network), cellular protocols (such as CMDA or GMS), or another system. 
     In one embodiment, shown in  FIG. 1B , the transmission of the data is a two-stage process, first via a local transmitter, and then via a long-distance transmitter. In one embodiment, for local transmission, from the interface to the long-distance transmitter, Bluetooth, RFID (radio frequency identification), WiFi, personal area network, or an alternative system may be used. 
     In one embodiment, local transmitter  105  may be a built-in part of the SMD  101 . For example, in one embodiment, an SMD may include a Bluetooth transmitter. The long-distance transmitter may then pick up the Bluetooth transmission, and send it to the remote server. 
     In one embodiment, the long-distance transmitter is a cellular telephone handset. The handset may be Bluetooth enabled, and receive data from the real-time sensor, which may have a Bluetooth transmitter built in, or may have a local transmitter attached to it through another means. The handset may operate as the long-distance transmitter using a software application which receives the data from the real-time monitor, packages it in an appropriate format, such as SMS or MMS, and sends it via its normal cellular protocol (CMDA/GMS/etc.) to the server. 
       FIGS. 1C through 1F  illustrate various types of interfaces, while  FIGS. 2A through 5  illustrate implementations of the various interfaces. 
       FIG. 1C  illustrates an external interface  130 , which is added in a way that uses the built-in output mechanism  120  of the underlying real-time monitor  110 . For example, if the built-in output mechanism  120  is an LCD (liquid crystal display) or similar display, the external interface  130  may be a charge coupled device (CCD)  450  to capture the image, as shown in  FIG. 4B . Alternatively, the external interface  130  may be an EMF (electro-magnetic force) sensor  420  which senses the data being written to the output mechanism  120 , as shown in  FIG. 4A . Alternatively, if the output is for example recording paper—such as for some heart monitors—the system may read the recording using a camera, line scanner, or similar device. 
       FIG. 1D  illustrates one embodiment of an interposed interface  150 . The interposed interface  150  works in parallel with the built-in output mechanism  120 , and obtains its data through other means. Exemplary interposed interfaces include having the interface access the data through an existing data output, or another means of obtaining the data from the sensor itself, without going through the built-in output mechanism, or integrating circuits within the SMD itself. Touching the internal circuitry of the SMD may require an additional FDA approval cycle. Thus, interposed interface  150 , in one embodiment, is placed so as to not require such an approval. 
       FIG. 2A  illustrates an exemplary interposed interface  130  in transceiver  230 . Transceiver  230 , which in the alternative may be simply a transmitter without receiving capability, is designed to fit into the data port  220  of the real-time monitor  210 . Some real-time monitors  210  come equipped with a data port  220 . The transceiver  230 , which is the external interface, receives the data formatted for output from the data port  220 . In one embodiment, the transceiver  230  is sized to fit easily into the data port, and to permanently reside in the data port. In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2B , the transceiver  260  includes a battery  270 . Alternatively, many transceivers are powered by the device, and the transceiver  230  may draw power from its host SMD. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2A , the interposed interface may transmit locally, and be retransmitted by another device. For example, the interposed interface may transmit data in Bluetooth format. This data may be received by a cellular telephone, which may then in turn retransmit the data to a server. In one embodiment, the transceiver itself may include a cell phone circuit, enabling it to directly transmit from the transceiver to the server. 
       FIG. 1E  illustrates one embodiment of an integrated interface. An integrated interface is inserted within the real-time monitor  110  itself. In one embodiment, the integrated transceiver may receive its data directly from the SMD&#39;s chip, as shown in  FIG. 5 . In one embodiment, integrating the integrated transceiver into the SMD may require adding a direct connection to internal circuitry within the SMD. The integrated transceiver, in one embodiment, may reside within the SMD  310 / 350 . Alternatively, the integrated SMD may simply include an internal connection to the SMD, with the transceiver itself residing outside the SMD. Both alternatives are shown in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  illustrate exemplary embodiments of using an integrated transceiver  320 ,  355 . In one embodiment, the integrated transceiver  355  may use the built-in memory  360  of the SMD  350 , and transmit stored data. This enables the transceiver  355  to transmit periodically, with a period that does not match the period of the SMD data. Alternatively, the transceiver  355  may include a separate memory. 
     In one embodiment, the communication between the SMD and the server is one-way, if the interface is a transmitter, and cannot receive data. This means that there is no way for the server to query the transmitter or indicate that a data set was not received. In one embodiment, the transmitter may transmit, in addition to the current data set, some historical data as well. This ensures that even if there is packet loss, all of the data is received. 
       FIG. 6  is one embodiment of a computer system that may be used with the present invention. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, however that other alternative systems of various system architectures may also be used. 
     The data processing system illustrated in  FIG. 6  includes a bus or other internal communication means  615  for communicating information, and a processor  610  coupled to the bus  615  for processing information. The system further comprises a random access memory (RAM) or other volatile storage device  650  (referred to as memory), coupled to bus  615  for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor  610 . Main memory  650  also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by processor  610 . The system also comprises a read only memory (ROM) and/or static storage device  620  coupled to bus  615  for storing static information and instructions for processor  610 , and a data storage device  625  such as a magnetic disk or optical disk and its corresponding disk drive. Data storage device  625  is coupled to bus  615  for storing information and instructions. 
     The system may further be coupled to a display device  670 , such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD) coupled to bus  615  through bus  665  for displaying information to a computer user. An alphanumeric input device  675 , including alphanumeric and other keys, may also be coupled to bus  615  through bus  665  for communicating information and command selections to processor  610 . An additional user input device is cursor control device  680 , such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus, or cursor direction keys coupled to bus  615  through bus  665  for communicating direction information and command selections to processor  610 , and for controlling cursor movement on display device  670 . 
     Another device, which may optionally be coupled to computer system  600 , is a communication device  690  for accessing other nodes of a distributed system via a network. The communication device  690  may include any of a number of commercially available networking peripheral devices such as those used for coupling to an Ethernet, token ring, Internet, or wide area network. The communication device  690  may further be a null-modem connection, a wireless connection mechanism, or any other mechanism that provides connectivity between the computer system  600  and the outside world. Note that any or all of the components of this system illustrated in  FIG. 6  and associated hardware may be used in various embodiments of the present invention. 
     It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any configuration of the system may be used for various purposes according to the particular implementation. The control logic or software implementing the present invention can be stored in main memory  650 , mass storage device  625 , or other storage medium locally or remotely accessible to processor  610 . 
     It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the system, method, and process described herein can be implemented as software stored in main memory  650  or read only memory  620  and executed by processor  610 . This control logic or software may also be resident on an article of manufacture comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein and being readable by the mass storage device  625  and for causing the processor  610  to operate in accordance with the methods and teachings herein. 
     The present invention may also be embodied in a handheld or portable device containing a subset of the computer hardware components described above. For example, the handheld device may be configured to contain only the bus  615 , the processor  610 , and memory  650  and/or  625 . The present invention may also be embodied in a special purpose appliance including a subset of the computer hardware components described above. For example, the appliance may include a processor  610 , a data storage device  625 , a bus  615 , and memory  650 , and only rudimentary communications mechanisms, such as a small touch-screen that permits the user to communicate in a basic manner with the device. In general, the more special-purpose the device is, the fewer of the elements need be present for the device to function. In some devices, communications with the user may be through a touch-based screen, or similar mechanism. 
     It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any configuration of the system may be used for various purposes according to the particular implementation. The control logic or software implementing the present invention can be stored on any machine-readable medium locally or remotely accessible to processor  610 . A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g. a computer). For example, a machine readable medium includes read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms of propagated signals (e.g. carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). 
     In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. In particular, various formats were described in the alternative. One of skill in the art understands that the features described with respect to the various embodiments can be mixed and matched together to form a system. Furthermore, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.