Using home wifi

[Metspitzer]

I have two medical devices that force me to make a list of results for
the doctor. One is my blood pressure machine and the other is my
blood glucose tester.

I don't know if anyone else would find it useful, but I would like to
be able to transfer the data to my computer instead of having to write
it down. I know I can get an expensive model, but I think I have a
pretty economical solution by adding a USB port to each device.

Program the machines at the factory to send the data to an email
address stored on a USB wireless network adapter. I know that the
devices do not use this method now, but it would be an almost no cost
improvement if manufacturers would implement it.

 

[Stewart]

I have two medical devices that force me to make a list of results
for
the doctor. One is my blood pressure machine and the other is my
blood glucose tester.

I don't know if anyone else would find it useful, but I would like
to
be able to transfer the data to my computer instead of having to
write
it down. I know I can get an expensive model, but I think I have a
pretty economical solution by adding a USB port to each device.

Program the machines at the factory to send the data to an email
address stored on a USB wireless network adapter. I know that the
devices do not use this method now, but it would be an almost no
cost
improvement if manufacturers would implement it.

Anything like this would need to go through not only development, but
software validation by the device manufacturer. Not impossible, but
it may require new regulatory filing(s). My father used to have a
device that used an internal modem to connect with the manufacturer at
a dedicated 800 number to automate the data transfers.

 

[Bob Hatch]

I have two medical devices that force me to make a list of results for
the doctor. One is my blood pressure machine and the other is my
blood glucose tester.

I don't know if anyone else would find it useful, but I would like to
be able to transfer the data to my computer instead of having to write
it down. I know I can get an expensive model, but I think I have a
pretty economical solution by adding a USB port to each device.

Program the machines at the factory to send the data to an email
address stored on a USB wireless network adapter. I know that the
devices do not use this method now, but it would be an almost no cost
improvement if manufacturers would implement it.

We have a Microlife BP machine that has a USB port that connects to the
computer. Not wireless, but I stores the records of BP and pulse on the
machine, transfers it to the computer via USB cord. The data can be
viewed several ways, and printed out. I make a .pdf file and email that
to the Dr, or take a copy on the next visit.


--
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools,
and accepted by idiots.
"Anon"
http://www.bobhatch.com
http://www.tdsrvresort.com

 

[The Seabat]

Not exactly what you're looking for, but I have (from the V.A.) a
Viterion100 that plugs into my phone line and transmits blood
pressure, blood sugar and weight to the V.A. every day. This way I
don't have to mess with using the computer.

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

I have two medical devices that force me to make a list of results for
the doctor. One is my blood pressure machine and the other is my
blood glucose tester.

I don't know if anyone else would find it useful, but I would like to
be able to transfer the data to my computer instead of having to write
it down. I know I can get an expensive model, but I think I have a
pretty economical solution by adding a USB port to each device.

Program the machines at the factory to send the data to an email
address stored on a USB wireless network adapter. I know that the
devices do not use this method now, but it would be an almost no cost
improvement if manufacturers would implement it.

Just did a quick Google search for "glucose usb", minus the quotes, and
found many meters capable of this already, some less than $30.

As for the blood pressure meter search for "blood pressure usb port"
showed some meters starting around $60. that can talk with a PC program
using USB.

From experience you have to really watch the PC to meter USB port
connections as many devices use proprietary or active connecters on the
meter end causing you to pay them extra to get a cable that will work
with out burning out the meter. Almost none of them come with the
adapter cable in the box ready to go, if one is needed.

I have not looked in a while but some home meters were starting to use
Bluetooth as a method of connecting to the PC's as a way of eliminating
the need for special cables, just a compatible Bluetooth PC and
appropriate software.

 

[Metspitzer]

Not exactly what you're looking for, but I have (from the V.A.) a
Viterion100 that plugs into my phone line and transmits blood
pressure, blood sugar and weight to the V.A. every day. This way I
don't have to mess with using the computer.

That would be more useful actually. Do you know if they are more
expensive than the regular testers? I have insurance, but it did not
pay for my blood pressure meter.

Did you have to have a phone jack installed for your bathroom scales?
I was thinking wifi could be added to bathroom scales as well. Just
plug in a wireless adapter one a month or so.

 

[John Williamson]

I have two medical devices that force me to make a list of results for
the doctor. One is my blood pressure machine and the other is my
blood glucose tester.

I don't know if anyone else would find it useful, but I would like to
be able to transfer the data to my computer instead of having to write
it down. I know I can get an expensive model, but I think I have a
pretty economical solution by adding a USB port to each device.

Program the machines at the factory to send the data to an email
address stored on a USB wireless network adapter. I know that the
devices do not use this method now, but it would be an almost no cost
improvement if manufacturers would implement it.

Some Blood glucose meters (The Accucheck Active is the one I use) have
an IR connection, and will talk to a free application I have installed
on an old Windows CE based PDA I have, which can in turn be used to
store and forward the data as an Excel spreadsheet via Mobile Sync. The
PDA will display all the information your doctor will want, including
things like a graph of the last 28 days readings, rolling averages and
trends, so the PC record is just for printouts and safety.

Accucheck will also sell you an IR adaptor for your computer which I
know will work under XP.

Other Accucheck meters can be connected via USB, but the connector on
the meter is often non-standard.

The BP problem I can't help with, as my cheap BP meter just stores the
last 30 readings and will display them on demand. On the other hand,
according to his face when he checks it, my blood pressure is
disgustingly normal, so I just keep occasional tabs on it.

 

[dweebken]

I have two medical devices that force me to make a list of results for
the doctor. One is my blood pressure machine and the other is my
blood glucose tester.

I don't know if anyone else would find it useful, but I would like to
be able to transfer the data to my computer instead of having to write
it down. I know I can get an expensive model, but I think I have a
pretty economical solution by adding a USB port to each device.

Program the machines at the factory to send the data to an email
address stored on a USB wireless network adapter. I know that the
devices do not use this method now, but it would be an almost no cost
improvement if manufacturers would implement it.

I use OnTrack Diabetes manager on my Android phone. It's dead easy to
simply key in my data after each test as the phone is always with me. I
can export the data as CSV or XML or HTML and copy that to my computer
to print it for my doc if I want. If you have an Android it's a great
add-on. And Free too. You can read about it here:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.gexperts.ontrack&hl=en
Here's a sample from my export (unfortunately the News Group strips out
som of the formatting):
Date Time Type Subtype Category Value Note
Sunday February 19, 2012
8:09 AM Weight Breakfast 80.7
8:01 AM Glucose Breakfast 5.8
Saturday February 18, 2012
9:05 AM Weight Breakfast 80.4
Friday February 17, 2012
6:45 AM Weight Breakfast 80.7
6:45 AM Glucose Breakfast 6.7
Thursday February 16, 2012
7:03 AM Weight Breakfast 80.8
7:03 AM Glucose Breakfast 5.9
Wednesday February 15, 2012
6:50 AM Weight Breakfast 80.3
6:50 AM Glucose Breakfast 5.5
Tuesday February 14, 2012
7:01 AM Weight Breakfast 80.1
7:01 AM Glucose Breakfast 6.2
Saturday February 11, 2012
9:21 AM Weight Breakfast 80.0
9:21 AM Glucose Breakfast 6.3

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Anything like this would need to go through not only development, but
software validation by the device manufacturer. Not impossible, but
it may require new regulatory filing(s). My father used to have a
device that used an internal modem to connect with the manufacturer at
a dedicated 800 number to automate the data transfers.

Using wifi (or possibly IR or bluetooth, I'm not sure - wifi certainly
anyway) does increase battery drain noticeably: most reviews I've seen
of laptop/netbook battery life do state that it makes quite a difference
to how long a charge lasts. I'm guessing the meter manufacturers want to
maximise battery life in their devices.

Wired connection, in contrast - another poster has said BP/BG meters
with USB are readily available - while slightly less convenient, would
still avoid you having to copy down the readings (as well as sounding
decidedly archaic, that's surely more prone to transcription errors), as
well as actually having the opposite effect on the unit's battery, i. e.
it could in most cases actually gain some charge from the USB connection
while uploading.

 

[Metspitzer]

I use OnTrack Diabetes manager on my Android phone. It's dead easy to
simply key in my data after each test as the phone is always with me. I
can export the data as CSV or XML or HTML and copy that to my computer
to print it for my doc if I want. If you have an Android it's a great
add-on. And Free too. You can read about it here:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.gexperts.ontrack&hl=en
Here's a sample from my export (unfortunately the News Group strips out
som of the formatting):
Date Time Type Subtype Category Value Note
Sunday February 19, 2012
8:09 AM Weight Breakfast 80.7
8:01 AM Glucose Breakfast 5.8
Saturday February 18, 2012
9:05 AM Weight Breakfast 80.4
Friday February 17, 2012
6:45 AM Weight Breakfast 80.7
6:45 AM Glucose Breakfast 6.7
Thursday February 16, 2012
7:03 AM Weight Breakfast 80.8
7:03 AM Glucose Breakfast 5.9
Wednesday February 15, 2012
6:50 AM Weight Breakfast 80.3
6:50 AM Glucose Breakfast 5.5
Tuesday February 14, 2012
7:01 AM Weight Breakfast 80.1
7:01 AM Glucose Breakfast 6.2
Saturday February 11, 2012
9:21 AM Weight Breakfast 80.0
9:21 AM Glucose Breakfast 6.3

You could just email me your results and I can multiply them by 2 and
use them as mine. My results are never that low. You must starve
yourself or eat all that food with no flavor.

 

[Art Todesco]

I have two medical devices that force me to make a list of results for
the doctor. One is my blood pressure machine and the other is my
blood glucose tester.

I don't know if anyone else would find it useful, but I would like to
be able to transfer the data to my computer instead of having to write
it down. I know I can get an expensive model, but I think I have a
pretty economical solution by adding a USB port to each device.

Program the machines at the factory to send the data to an email
address stored on a USB wireless network adapter. I know that the
devices do not use this method now, but it would be an almost no cost
improvement if manufacturers would implement it.

Lots of nice ideas in this thread. However, most, if not all, medical
people, insurance and doctors, will not accept medical data via email.
As far as I'm concerned, I have no problem if someone sees my data,
however, the privacy thing and lawyers have got everyone running scared.
The good news is that most will accept a Fax because Faxes are
considered secure as they are point to point.

 

[Metspitzer]

Lots of nice ideas in this thread. However, most, if not all, medical
people, insurance and doctors, will not accept medical data via email.
As far as I'm concerned, I have no problem if someone sees my data,
however, the privacy thing and lawyers have got everyone running scared.
The good news is that most will accept a Fax because Faxes are
considered secure as they are point to point.

You are correct that sending medical info email is a security issue. I
have run into problems from sending medical info to/from doctor's many
times. My hope would be to have my blood pressure machine email "me"
with the results. I could then fax them or send them to a secure web
site managed by the hospital. (My hospital does not have a secure web
site, but it should)

Faxing to the doctor locally is not really a problem, but faxing to
another state is a problem for me as I don't have long distance on my
phone. More and more people are using cell phones only and don't even
have a phone line to send a fax.

A secure web page would be nice for that.

 

[Wolf K]

The good news is that most will accept a Fax because Faxes are
considered secure as they are point to point.

The only reason faxes are more secure than e-mail is that fax isn't used
enough to make it a tempting target. Faxes are just binary code
transmitted over phone lines. Phone lines can be hacked, so....

Bottom line: if it's transmitted over any kind of network, in any
format, it can be hacked. If the information is valuable enough, someone
will hack it.

Anyhow, e-mails can be encrypted using public-key methods. The doc only
has to give his patients the public key half of his encryption key. It
can't be used to decrypt the mail.

Wolf K.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

I have two medical devices that force me to make a list of results for
the doctor. One is my blood pressure machine and the other is my
blood glucose tester.

I don't know if anyone else would find it useful, but I would like to
be able to transfer the data to my computer instead of having to write
it down. I know I can get an expensive model, but I think I have a
pretty economical solution by adding a USB port to each device.

I use a Bayer Contour glucose meter, it has a USB connector on it
already. Don't know if there are similar style blood pressure machines.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Metspitzer]

I use a Bayer Contour glucose meter, it has a USB connector on it
already. Don't know if there are similar style blood pressure machines.

Yousuf Khan

I will keep that in mind if I decide to get another meter. The two I
have were both free. I got one from Emory and one just like it for
buying Liberty Medical test strips.

Liberty seemed a little pushy when I first signed up. I basically had
to tell them to not call me, I would call them.

Having a meter with USB would be a feature I would suggest to anyone
considering getting a meter.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

I will keep that in mind if I decide to get another meter. The two I
have were both free. I got one from Emory and one just like it for
buying Liberty Medical test strips.

Liberty seemed a little pushy when I first signed up. I basically had
to tell them to not call me, I would call them.

Having a meter with USB would be a feature I would suggest to anyone
considering getting a meter.

The Bayer was also free from my doctor (he gets it free from Bayer as a
promotional), and I could've also gotten it free from my pharmacy if I
bought 100 test strips from them. The glucose meters operate on the
razor blade model, give away the razors away cheap, but charge like a
f****r for the blades.

In fact, the USB cable was even sent to me for free from Bayer. The
particular model of glucose meter that I have now is serial port device,
so Bayer sent me a serial-USB converter cable for free. Nowadays, they
have a newer version of the Contour that looks just like a data stick
including a built-in USB connector.

http://www.bayercontourusb.com/

Yousuf Khan

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

The only reason faxes are more secure than e-mail is that fax isn't used
enough to make it a tempting target. Faxes are just binary code
transmitted over phone lines. Phone lines can be hacked, so....

Bottom line: if it's transmitted over any kind of network, in any
format, it can be hacked. If the information is valuable enough, someone
will hack it.

Anyhow, e-mails can be encrypted using public-key methods. The doc only
has to give his patients the public key half of his encryption key. It
can't be used to decrypt the mail.

Wolf K.

Yes Faxes can be intercepted by those who know how and are willing to
tap your phone call, anywhere along the line.

We used to do that while I was in the Air Force over 25 years ago in
order to catch contractors attempting to use Faxes as a "secure" means
of communicating between our sites and their company offices. True we
had warning signs advising that all communications at this facility are
subject to monitoring, but most idiots seemed to think that only
pertained to voice calls.

Most times the phoney contract was quietly quashed and the offending
company placed on a "drop dead" list for a year. The public nature of
lawsuits kept these proceedings "quiet" in order to facilitate catching
others.

We fed the Fax signal into modified modems and sent the output to
another fax machine or Fax server for what ever the legal eagles wanted
to do with it. We could read the faxes live or from a tape using this
method.

 

[Roy Smith]

I use a Bayer Contour glucose meter, it has a USB connector on it
already. Don't know if there are similar style blood pressure machines.

I've seen some at my local CVS drug store that can be used with a PC to
record a journal of your blood pressure readings. Not sure how it hook
up to the PC, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were through a USB port.


--

Roy Smith
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Thunderbird 10.0.2
Sunday, February 19, 2012 9:43:43 PM

 

[Wolf K]

On 19/02/2012 9:12 PM, GlowingBlueMist wrote:
[...]

Yes Faxes can be intercepted by those who know how and are willing to
tap your phone call, anywhere along the line.

[snip account of a simple fax hack]

When it comes to security, it helps to be paranoid. ;-)

Wolf K.

 

[dweebken]

You could just email me your results and I can multiply them by 2 and
use them as mine. My results are never that low. You must starve
yourself or eat all that food with no flavor.

Actually it was hard work getting the numbers down to that. I cut
back heavily on carbs (no more than 15 g per meal) and didn't replace
them with anything, also stopped eating what my wife left over, and cut
back in-between snacks to very low levels (only sometimes). I lost 30 kg
over two or three years to get from obese to normal weight, and brought
my fasting BG down from the 8-9 mmol range and want to keep it that way.
Also added a 30 minute per day walking exercise regimen as well (I was
pretty sedentary).

But it's an individual thing and the disease is progressive, so I don't
know how long I can maintain those numbers or if it'll work for you.