Data synchronization between two or more analyte detecting devices in a database

Abstract

An analyte measurement system includes one or more handheld analyte meters and/or measurement devices and a means for collecting data, preserving data integrity, and uniquely identifying patient data received from multiple sources. For example, provided herein is a means to uniquely identify patients and their data when the data is collected from one or more measurement devices. By providing a way to allow the patients to use multiple sources to collect data, the system described herein provides patients with more flexibility, which should encourage better compliance to protocols. Further, by having a way to uniquely identify patients' data without requiring a patient to only use one analyte meter, for example, data can be centralized and analysis can be done with more assurance that all of the patient's data is being considered in the analyses.

1 - 14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . A diabetes management system, comprising:
 a plurality of analyte measurement devices; and   a centralized server in data communication with the plurality of analyte measurement devices;   wherein each of the plurality of analyte measurement devices comprises one or more processors coupled to a memory, the memory being configured to store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to place a unique patient ID in a data stream to be transmitted to the centralized server, and   wherein the centralized server includes at least one computer readable medium having instructions executable by at least one processing device that, when executed, cause the processing device to aggregate analyte data from the plurality of analyte measurement devices.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the plurality of analyte measurement devices includes a communication module adapted for wireless communication with the centralized server. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the communication module is configured to communicate with the centralized server according to at least one of a 802.11 protocol, Bluetooth protocol, or an IrDA infrared protocol. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions of the at least one computer readable medium of the centralized server further cause the processing device to aggregate the analyte data from the plurality of analyte measurement devices by unique patient ID. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions of the at least one computer readable medium of the centralized server further cause the processing device to store a unique device ID associated with each of the plurality of analyte measurement devices. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the analyte measurement devices is configured to measure a blood glucose level of a patient. 
     
     
         21 . A diabetes management method, comprising:
 providing a patient with a first analyte measurement device;   preparing a patient record in a centralized database;   providing a data communication channel between the first analyte measurement device and the centralized database;   placing a primary unique patient ID in a data stream to be transmitted to the centralized database;   receiving the primary unique patient ID from the first analyte measurement device;   prompting the patient to provide a secondary ID information parameter to confirm the patient's identity; and   storing newly received patient data from the first analyte measurement device in the patient record on the centralized database, wherein the patient record includes data aggregated from a plurality of analyte measurement devices.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the patient is provided with a second analyte measurement device, further comprising:
 receiving a second primary unique patient ID from the second analyte measurement device;   asking the patient to provide the secondary ID information parameter to confirm the patient's identity; and   storing newly received patient data from the second analyte measurement device in the patient record on the centralized database.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 the centralized database providing the first analyte measurement device with a unique ID for confirming identification in future data transfers.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 registering a new patient or new device if identification of the patient or device cannot be confirmed.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the steps are repeated for a plurality of patients or a plurality of devices. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the data communication channel includes a wireless communication link. 
     
     
         27 . A diabetes management method, comprising:
 establishing a connection between an analyte measurement device and a personal computer;   uploading data via a communication driver;   the device and the communication driver both placing unique patient IDs in a data stream to be transmitted to a central database; and   the central database recognizing and matching both unique patient IDs, and storing data associated with the unique patient IDs with data aggregated from a plurality of analyte measurement devices.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the connection is a wireless connection. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the wireless connection includes at least one of a radio frequency communication link, a Zigbee communication link, a Wi-Fi communication link, an infrared communication link, a wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB) link, an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) link, a Bluetooth communication link, or a cellular communication link. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising extracting, by the central database, both unique patient IDs from the data stream. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising maintaining, by the communication driver, a plurality of unique patient IDs, wherein each of the plurality of unique patient IDs is associated with a patient's name. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , in response to not recognizing the unique patient IDs, further comprising proceeding to a registration protocol.