Automobile physiological monitoring system and method for using the same

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/048,423, filed Apr. 28, 2008, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to sensor monitoring systems and methods. Specifically, embodiments of the present invention are directed to connecting sensor monitoring systems to automobile electronics capable of providing a nearest destination for a user to travel to based on sensor data.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Approximately 13 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with some form of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes results from the body\'s failure to produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance in which the body fails to properly use insulin. In order to effectively manage the disease, diabetics must closely monitor and manage their blood glucose levels through exercise, diet and medications. In particular, both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics rely on insulin delivery and blood glucose monitoring to control their diabetes.

External infusion devices have been used to deliver medication to a patient as generally described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,554,798 and 6,551,276, which are specifically incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. In addition to delivering medication to a patient, other medical devices have been used to determine body characteristics by obtaining a sample of bodily fluid. A variety of implantable electrochemical sensors have been developed for detecting and/or quantifying specific agents or compositions in a patient\'s blood. For instance, glucose sensors have been developed for use in obtaining an indication of blood glucose levels in a diabetic patient. Such readings can be especially useful in monitoring and/or adjusting a treatment regimen that typically includes the regular administration of insulin to the patient. Thus, blood glucose readings are particularly useful in improving medical therapies with semi-automated medication infusion pumps of the external type and/or implantable type.

Monitoring blood glucose levels plays an integral role in the management and control of diabetes. Finger stick measurements, glucose sensors, and monitors have traditionally been used to check the blood glucose levels of diabetic patients. In recent years, continuous glucose monitoring systems have been developed utilizing the latest sensor technologies incorporating both implantable and external sensors as generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,250 entitled, “Method of Fabricating Thin Film Sensors”, U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,046 entitled, “Electrochemical Analyte Sensor”, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,390,671, 5,568,806 and 5,586,553, entitled, “Transcutaneous Sensor Insertion Set”, all of which are specifically incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Newer systems deliver the preciseness of finger stick measurements coupled with the convenience of not having to repeatedly prick the skin to obtain glucose measurements. These newer systems provide the equivalent of over 200 finger stick readings per day. Additionally, continuous glucose monitoring systems allow physicians and patients to monitor blood glucose trends of their body and suggest and deliver insulin based on each patient\'s particular needs. Accordingly, physicians and medical device companies are always searching for more convenient ways to keep diabetic patients aware of their blood glucose levels throughout the day.

An automobile monitoring system to monitor user body characteristics includes at least one sensor to monitor at least one user body characteristic. The at least one sensor is operatively coupled to a body of a user to monitor the at least one user body characteristic while the user is operating an automobile. The at least one user body characteristic is at least a glucose level of the user\'s body. At least one transmitter is operatively coupled to the at least one sensor to communicate sensor data obtained from the at least one sensor while the user is operating the automobile. Automobile electronics are operatively coupled to the at least one transmitter to receive sensor data from the at least one sensor while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics provide the sensor data to the user while the user is operating the automobile. A mobile telephone is operatively coupled to the automobile electronics. The automobile electronics initiate a communication via the mobile telephone based on the sensor data received from the at least one sensor.

The sensor data received from the at least one sensor may indicate an emergency medical condition of the user. The mobile telephone may be operatively coupled to the automobile electronics via a wireless protocol. The communication initiated by the mobile telephone may be a voice call, a text message, or an e-mail. At least one monitor may be operatively coupled to the at least one transmitter to receive the sensor data. The at least one transmitter may communicate with the automobile electronics using at least one wireless protocol. The automobile electronics may include at least one of a GPS navigation system, a DVD entertainment system, an on-system computer, or a stereo system. Moreover, the automobile electronics may display sensor data to the user while the user is operating the automobile.

The automobile electronics may include default high blood glucose and low blood glucose thresholds for the glucose level while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may prevent ignition of the automobile when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold. The automobile electronics may provide at least one warning when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may sound at least one alarm when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one alarm may provide at least one of audio, visual or tactile indications. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level in bodily and/or interstitial fluids of the user while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level on either a continuous, near continuous, or intermittent basis while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level on a real-time basis while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may provide a warning to the user, while the automobile is in operation, to pull over the automobile and check the sensor readings prior to continued operation of the automobile. The automobile electronics may include the ability to access a communication technology that can send sensor data to an operational center to obtain assistance for the user. The automobile electronics may provide warnings of potential hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic situations while the user is operating the automobile.

An automobile monitoring system to monitor user body characteristics includes at least one sensor to monitor at least one user body characteristic. The at least one sensor is operatively coupled to a body of a user to monitor the at least one user body characteristic while the user is operating an automobile. The at least one user body characteristic is at least a glucose level of the user\'s body. At least one transmitter is operatively coupled to the at least one sensor to communicate sensor data obtained from the at least one sensor while the user is operating the automobile. Automobile electronics are operatively coupled to the at least one transmitter to receive sensor data from the at least one sensor while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics provide the sensor data to the user while the user is operating the automobile. A global positioning system (GPS) is operatively coupled to the automobile electronics to determine a current location of the user. The automobile electronics limit the user from operating the automobile to travel beyond a distance based on the sensor data received from the at least one sensor.

The automobile electronics may provide a recommended destination before or at the distance for the user to travel to from the current location. The sensor data may include historical sensor data of the at least one user body characteristic. The sensor data received from the at least one sensor may indicate a hypoglycemic or a hyperglycemic condition of the user. The automobile electronics may permit the user to operate the automobile to travel beyond the distance to a second distance after making a stop before or at the distance. At least one monitor may be operatively coupled to the at least one transmitter to receive the sensor data. The at least one transmitter may communicate with the automobile electronics using at least one wireless protocol. The automobile electronics may include at least one of a GPS navigation system, a DVD entertainment system, an on-system computer, or a stereo system. The automobile electronics may display sensor data to the user while the user is operating the automobile.

The automobile electronics may include default high blood glucose and low blood glucose thresholds for the at least one glucose level while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may prevent ignition of the automobile when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold. The automobile electronics may provide at least one warning when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may sound at least one alarm when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one alarm may provide at least one of audio, visual or tactile indications. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level in bodily and/or interstitial fluids of the user while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level on either a continuous, near continuous, or intermittent basis while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level on a real-time basis while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may provide a warning to the user, while the automobile is in operation, to pull over the automobile and check the sensor readings prior to continued operation of the automobile. The automobile electronics may include the ability to access a communication technology that can send sensor data to an operational center to obtain assistance for the user. The automobile electronics may provide warnings of potential hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic situations while the user is operating the automobile.

An automobile monitoring system to monitor user body characteristics includes at least one sensor to monitor at least one user body characteristic. The at least one sensor is operatively coupled to a body of a user to monitor the at least one user body characteristic while the user is operating an automobile. The at least one user body characteristic is at least a glucose level of the user\'s body. At least one transmitter is operatively coupled to the at least one sensor to communicate sensor data obtained from the at least one sensor while the user is operating the automobile. Automobile electronics are operatively coupled to the at least one transmitter to receive sensor data from the at least one sensor while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics provide the sensor data to the user while the user is operating the automobile. A global positioning system (GPS) is operatively coupled to the automobile electronics to determine a current location of the user. The automobile electronics provide a nearest destination from the current location of the user for the user to travel to based on the sensor data received from the at least one sensor.

The nearest destination may be one of a hospital, a pharmacy, a medical office, a convenience store, a market, a rest stop, and a restaurant. At least one monitor may be operatively coupled to the at least one transmitter to receive the sensor data. The at least one transmitter may communicate with the automobile electronics using at least one wireless protocol. The automobile electronics may include at least one of a GPS navigation system, a DVD entertainment system, an on-system computer, or a stereo system. The automobile electronics may display sensor data to the user while the user is operating the automobile.

The automobile electronics may include default high blood glucose and low blood glucose thresholds for the glucose level while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may prevent ignition of the automobile when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold. The automobile electronics may provide at least one warning when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may sound at least one alarm when the sensor data is above the high blood glucose threshold or below the low blood glucose threshold while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one alarm may provide at least one of audio, visual or tactile indications. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level in bodily and/or interstitial fluids of the user while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level on either a continuous, near continuous, or intermittent basis while the user is operating the automobile. The at least one sensor may be attached to the body of the user to sense the glucose level on a real-time basis while the user is operating the automobile. The automobile electronics may provide a warning to the user, while the automobile is in operation, to pull over the automobile and check the sensor readings prior to continued operation of the automobile. The automobile electronics may include the ability to access a communication technology that can send sensor data to an operational center to obtain assistance for the user. The sensor data received from the at least one sensor may indicate a hypoglycemic or a hyperglycemic condition of the user.

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