Variable data usage personal medical system and method

Abstract

A variable data usage personal medical system including a self-care device attached to a patient, and operable to generate self-care device data and to transmit the self-care device data at a fixed interval; a cellular communication device operable to receive and store the transmitted self-care device data, to register a count at an interval counter for each of the fixed intervals in which the transmitted self-care device data is received, to generate a data cellular packet from overhead plus the stored self-care device data when the interval counter equals a fixed interval index, and to transmit the data packet; and a cloud infrastructure operably connected to the cellular communication device over a cellular network, and operable to receive, process, and store the transmitted data packet. The cloud infrastructure is operable to transmit a value for the fixed interval index to the cellular communication device for storage.

1 . A system comprising:
 a self-care device of a patient operably connected to a communication device of the patient, wherein the communication device is operably connected to a cloud infrastructure, the self-care device being operable to:   generate self-care device data; and   transmit the self-care device data to the communication device at a fixed interval, wherein the cloud infrastructure transmits a value for a fixed interval index to the communication device, wherein the communication device registers a count at an interval counter for each fixed interval in which the transmitted self-care data is received and wherein the communication device communicates a data packet, which includes the self-care device data, to the cloud infrastructure in response to the count at the interval counter being equal to the fixed interval index.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the self-care device further comprises a link between the self-care device and the communication device, wherein the link further comprises a wired or a wireless connection. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the self-care device is operable to, in response to a request from the communication device, send data stored in the self-care device to the communication device. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the self-care device and the communication device are combined and integrated in a single package. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein in response to the count at the interval counter being equal to the fixed interval, the communication device generates the data packet that includes the self-care device data plus overhead. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the data packet is sent from the communications device to the cloud infrastructure over a network. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a display device operable to receive and display data from at least one data packet. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the value for the fixed interval index is a fixed integer. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the value for the fixed interval index is selected based on at least one of a medical condition and history of the patient, statistical analysis of a patient group experience, activity in the system, or communication costs. 
     
     
         10 . A self-care device that attaches to a patient, the self-care device comprising:
 a communication link operable to communicate with a communication device, the self-care device operable to:   generate self-care device data; and   transmit the self-care device data to the communication device at a fixed interval, wherein the communication device registers a count at an interval counter for each fixed interval in which the transmitted self-care data is received, wherein the communication device communicates a data packet, which includes the self-care device data from the self-care device, to a cloud infrastructure in response to the count at the interval counter being equal to a value for a fixed interval index received from the cloud infrastructure.   
     
     
         11 . The self-care device of  claim 10  further comprising a personal medical device that delivers therapy to the patient. 
     
     
         12 . The self-care device of  claim 11 , wherein the personal medical device delivers insulin to the patient. 
     
     
         13 . The self-care device of  claim 10  further comprising a personal medical device that monitors a physiological parameter of the patient. 
     
     
         14 . The self-care device of  claim 13  wherein the personal medical device is a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device. 
     
     
         15 . A method comprising:
 generating, by a self-care device, self-care device data for a patient; and   transmitting, by the self-care device, the self-care device data to a communication device at a fixed interval, wherein a cloud infrastructure transmits a value for a fixed interval index to the communication device, wherein the communication device registers a count at an interval counter for each fixed interval in which the transmitted self-care data is received, and wherein the communication device communicates a data packet, which includes the self-care device data, to the cloud infrastructure in response to the count at the interval counter being equal to the fixed interval index.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the transmitting further comprises transmitting the self-care device data to the communication device approximately every 5 minutes. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein, in response to the transmitting, the communication device receives and increments the interval counter each time the self-care device data is received. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the transmitting comprises a cycle of data transfer from the self-care device to the communication device that is followed by a less frequent transfer of data from the communication device to the cloud infrastructure. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising sending, by the self-care device, in response to detecting an unusual condition, an alarm packet to the cloud infrastructure through the communication device. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the alarm packet further comprises an identifier plus accompanying data for use in making therapy adjustments.