Medical software download to mobile phone

Abstract

A method is provided for monitoring medical information using a portable medical device and a mobile device, comprising: establishing a communication link between the mobile device and a download server; selecting, depending on the type of mobile device, a communication software package from a plurality of communication software packages accessible by the download server; downloading the selected communication software package to the mobile device over the link; installing the communication software package on the mobile device; wirelessly transferring medical data from the portable medical device to the mobile device using the installed communication software package; and uploading at least a portion of the medical data from the mobile device to a medical care server.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for monitoring medical information using a portable medical device and a mobile device, comprising:
 establishing a communication link between the mobile device and a download server;   selecting, depending on the type of mobile device, a communication software package from a plurality of communication software packages accessible by the download server;   downloading the selected communication software package to the mobile device over the link;   installing the communication software package on the mobile device;   wirelessly transferring medical data from the portable medical device to the mobile device using the installed communication software package; and   uploading at least a portion of the medical data from the mobile device to a medical care server.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further including transmitting a Short Message Service (SMS) message from the mobile device to a predetermined number corresponding to the download server. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein transmitting the SMS message represents a request to begin a download process. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further including receiving a response message from the download server in response to the SMS message, the response message including a link which, upon activation, automatically causes the mobile device to navigate to the download server to begin the download process. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further including automatically transmitting information about the type of mobile device from the mobile device to the download server. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the medical data is selected from a group consisting of: glucose level data; cholesterol level data; coagulation data; measuring time; and dose data for an insulin medication. 
     
     
         7 . A system for monitoring medical data comprising:
 a portable medical device;   a mobile device configured to wirelessly communicate with the portable medical device; and   a download server configured to access a plurality of software packages for controlling wireless communication and data transfer between the mobile device and the portable medical device;   wherein the mobile device and the download server are configured to establish a download link therebetween for exchanging information detailing at least one of the type of mobile device and the type of portable medical device being used over the download link, and to respond to the exchanged information by selecting an appropriate software package from the plurality of software packages;   wherein the mobile device is further configured to download the appropriate software package over the download link and install the appropriate software package on the mobile device; and   wherein the mobile device is further configured to upload to the download server medical data wirelessly transferred from the portable medical device to the mobile device using the downloaded and installed software package.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the mobile device is further configured to transmit a Short Message Service (SMS) message to a predetermined number corresponding to the download server. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the SMS message represents a request to begin a process of downloading the appropriate software package. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the mobile device is further configured to receive a response message from the download server in response to the SMS message, the response message including a link which, upon activation, automatically causes the mobile device to navigate to the download server to being the process of downloading. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the mobile device is selected from a group consisting of a mobile phone; a personal digital assistant (PDA); and a handheld computer. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the portable medical device is selected from a group consisting of a glucose meter; a blood glucose meter; a cholesterol meter; a blood pressure meter; a coagulation meter; and an insulin pump. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein each of the mobile device and the portable medical device includes an interface for wirelessly transferring the medical data, the interfaces being selected from a group consisting of an infra-red data transfer interface; a radio frequency data transfer interface; and a near field communication (NFC) interface.