Glucose Data Segmentation for Secure Cloud Distribution

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Solution Overview

Problem

Continuous glucose monitors face challenges in securely transmitting and managing sensitive glucose data across a distributed architecture, including protecting patient confidentiality, handling varying data sensitivity levels, and ensuring access control, especially when integrating with multiple devices and third-party applications.

Innovation Solution

The system categorizes data into multiple categories (public and private) and uses encryption to control access, allowing selective access based on entity requests, implementing a cloud computing architecture with a hub and spoke topology for standardized interfaces, and employing backfilling to address missing data transmissions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If data is transmitted to multiple devices and third-party applications, then data accessibility and integration are improved, but patient confidentiality and data security are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata accessibilityVSAvoidpatient confidentiality
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments data into multiple categories (e.g., public data, private data, confidential data) with different access permissions. Each category is transmitted selectively to different devices and applications, allowing broad accessibility for public data while maintaining strict confidentiality for sensitive data through targeted transmission only to authorized entities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Loss of information

If all data is transmitted to every device, then data completeness is improved, but network bandwidth and system resources are wasted

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata completenessVSAvoidnetwork bandwidth
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by transmitting different subsets of data to different devices based on their specific needs and authorization levels. Each device receives only the data categories relevant to its function, ensuring data completeness for each device while minimizing overall network bandwidth consumption through selective transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Object-affected harmful factors

If data is encrypted for security, then patient confidentiality is improved, but data processing speed and access efficiency are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepatient confidentialityVSAvoiddata processing speed
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments data into encrypted and unencrypted portions based on sensitivity. Public data remains unencrypted for rapid access and processing, while only confidential data undergoes encryption. This selective encryption approach maintains patient confidentiality for sensitive information while preserving data processing speed for non-sensitive operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4339825A1Distributed system architecture for continuous glucose monitoring
Publication Date: 2024.03.20 DEXCOM INC
  • EP4339825A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4339825A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4339825A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present disclosure relates to techniques for receiving glucose data from a continuous glucose sensor and controlling the use and redistribution of that data so it is used in an intended manner. In one aspect, a method includes preparing data including glucose levels using a continuous glucose sensor unit; wirelessly transmitting the data relating to the glucose levels to a display device from the continuous glucose sensor unit; automatically forwarding the data relating to the glucose levels from the display device to a cloud computing architecture; and storing the data relating to the glucose levels in separate groups at the cloud computing architecture.