psdaengr

Here's a link to a copy of the PDF

Comment:
The biggest impediment to the cost and the use of informatics with glucose meters is that the largest manufacturers each utilize proprietary data formats, proprietary communication protocols and connections, and proprietary testing supplies.

Local wireless Bluetooth and 802.1 communication, while may convenient, have not reached a state where data security can be assured by the average consumer. The best current solution would be the USB port, which has been in use by the PC world for a decade, however most meter manufacturers still continue to use serial ports requiring proprietary conversion cables. A secured data protocol standard and an output data standard are needed, similar to the PictBridge standard for digital cameras and https. Lacking such standards, the major manufacturers will continue to strangle progress toward metering services

PhilFluffy

Here here, a meter that outputted its data in xml format or even csv into a flat file would be a boon, or saved the results to a sd memory card etc.
The technology to use a sd card in a device has come down in price so much and everyone has a reader to use with cameras etc it would add pence to the unit price to ship with a sd slot and a small capacity card. I have a roche glucotrend with a serial connection, and on the back burner has been a idea to reverse engineer the serial protocol it uses so I can store the results in a more open way rather than trying to find a set of anchient floppys containing the software each time I upgrade a machine, and praying it still works with this release of operating system X.

The whole industry push is to lock in people to a certain system, a past doctor in the uk only recommended roche glucotrends because she had the analysis software on her computer (which cannily the area reps give out for free) and patients could send in their results electronically, and Im told the real profit in the system is in supplying the strips (I have a friend who works at a strip manufacturing plant who is quite well up on these matters).

Incidentally the drum type glucometers which take a cartridge drum instead of the individual strips cost far far more for recharges than the strip type for a given number of tests, which is traditionally why theyve been discouraged. I had one for travelling with for a while, but found it simpler to just carry a old strip container in the testing kit bag for the discarded strips rather than running out of cartridges unexpectedly.

Sorry I was too late with the above to contribute to your paper.

psdaengr

SD card capability wouldn't solve the fundamental problem - no two meter manufacturers save the information using the same internal data structure. If they all shared one common physical data connection and protocol type, you'd still have to deal with inconsistent time/date formats, varying field orders, inconsistent measurement units for glucose levels.

I have found one and only one glucose analysis program that is making a successful effort toward taking the data from a wide range of manufacturers' meters and presenting it in a consistent manner- SiDiary.

Overall it's a good product, but still faces from the last impediment to widespread adoption: human language. It's the product of a small German company, and its English language output is an awkward and incomplete translation produced by volunteers. One way that countries could help their economy recover would be to giving grants to small companies like this one, so that they could hire the resources needed to complete the development of products like this one.

Regarding the technology of test strips: the "first line" companies that have deals with US insurance companies are selling old technology strips and overcharging for them. I've tested a range of the lesser-known inexpensive meters and found them to be equal to the more expensive meters accuracy and convenience using no-code strips that cost half as much over the counter. The first line companies are touting their countries of origin and gee-whiz features as their main selling points, and trying to push their customers to using proprietary CGMS systems that inter-operate only with their particular meters.

It's interesting that that the FCC regulated, extremely-competitive consumer market driven communication industry in the US is able to thrive while cooperating in developing standards, but the FDA regulated, medical instrumentation market which provides products upon which their customers lives depend, hasn't.

If the Obama administration wants to drive down the cost of healthcare and jump start the economy, it should concentrate on the rapid development and adoption of fundamental standards of measurement- outcome-based standards, efficacy standards, communications standards, privacy standards, security standards, lending and credit disclosure standards. In every instance where consumers have uniform standards for comparison, it has resulted in innovation, competition, cost and performance improvements. In every case where government money has been dumped into an existing system, it has suppressed competition, and has had no lasting effect on improving products or services or stimulating the economy.

PhilFluffy

Getting the data into a xml or csv format means its easy to internationalize the output, since you can manipulate/split on commas for csv etc and play with the data to your hearts content.
Theres a project called glucomodul thats trying to make a backend system to get the data from some models of meter, and its open source. Once the data can be read from a backend like this, a variety of programs will spring up that take advantage of the data.
I may buy one of the supported meters to have a tinker actually, since its in my field of expertise, and a lot easier than struggling trying to reverse engineer the roche one I have. Manufacturers take note and release specs to the community please
Glucomodul

psdaengr

Easy for you and me to play with yes, not easy for most people with diabetes to use as an effective tool for IGT BGM.

Without uniform BGMS data reporting standards, meters will continue to remain expensive toys; cash-cows for a few big manufacturers, used sub-optimally, never achieving their potential as effective tools for managing diabetes.

We can't afford to have todays' diabetics achieving sub-optimal results for another decade or more - the time it is going to take to develop a affordable, reliable artificial pancreases. If it happens without BGMS data reporting standards, we are likely to end up with bionic kludges that perpetuate the proprietary interests of a few pharmaceutical manufacturers instead of the addressing the interests of millions of people with diabetes.

Ishav07

The new bayer meter puts it all on a graph for you, Its got a nice color screen on the usb stick like meter and once you connect it to the computer it just makes a graph out for you.

PBER57

I use three meters, I have one in the car though.

My main meter is the Accura Compact. Insuranse pays for the strips and they are spendy. I do have the software for downloading. That works fine but I dont like that you cannont vary the dates you look at.
I also dont like that the software is not MAC compatiable. I dont think many are.

I use the NOVA max at my desk. Strips are cheap. Always highest of all my meters but closer to my A1C's average so i would say that it seems the most accurate

In the car I have the reli on from Walmart. Beautiful little meter and works great. Love how the strips are wraped.