Bayer Contour USB Meter

hi, i believe it will work under Vista and NiVZ I should have mentioned I am runnnig windows 7 so your software will work on it ! I don't very much it will work on Linux unfortunately, Linux works completely differently from windows under the 'covers' and the software NiVZ uses is very much based on windows .

Hi marke,

Good to know it works under Windows 7

Yeah Linux is completely different and I've no idea how to write programs for it. If anyone who does wants to give it a go you need a language that can interface with the COM port and is capable of sending and receiving binary data - a lot of the meters send Chr(00) which can be wrongly interpreted as end of string / end of communication.

I'd be happy to provide details of the communications I've figured out so far.

NiVZ

Hi NiVZ


Java may be the way to go - (cross platform) - will have a word with a couple of programmers at work see if they have used it. What are you programming in at the minute?

Woo, java is a good suggestion in response to this potential problem!

I'm not sure it is a good suggestion guys, Java is a platform independent language ( well at least it should be if we keep it away from Microsoft). That means it doesn't know or care what the hardware it runs on is. It may be that you can get at a COM port in java but generally it would be frowned upon since its breaking the platform independence rules. This software needs to access the COM ( serial) port to talk directly to the meter.

Sorry if thats a bit techie, I don't know what level of IT you all understand, obviously I do it full time, hence the geeky posting ;^)

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Serial_Programming/Serial_Java#Using_Java_for_Serial_Communication

I've only skimmed this page but it seems you can use javax.comm which is platform independent, and rxtx which provides the platform-specific libraries.

Hello

I've read that Ruby is corss platform and that theres a serial library for it. Simon, I think you mentioned you had done a bit of Ruby programming. Not sure if that would be an option?

To be honest I've not got any Linux programming experience so it would be a big task to try and figure all that out. I know a lot about Windows and have done plenty of programming and it's been a big challenge getting it to where it is already. Using the AutoIT language was purely for convenience. It's very like Visual Basic syntax, great for rapid prototyping, we use it at work a lot and someone had already started a Serial COM programme so all the pieces just came together at the right time.

I'm open to suggestions though and happy to help anyone else get as far as I have if they fancy giving it a go. Figuring out the meter 'language' was the hardest part but once you get it you just basically make sure the meter is ready (initialise) and then ask a question (transmit) and get a reply (recieve) and when you're finished end (disconnect).

I've added some extra stuff like trying to automatically figure out which COM port the meter is connected to so that the program is easier to use.


NiVZ

I don't think its a simple cost comparison though. The costs of Diabetes are complex, if the right meter means you test regularly and have better control and hence avoid a hypo that results in hospital treatment or avoid complications then that is a major saving to the NHS regardless of the cost of the test strips. I apprciate your concerns relating to cost but its a very complex area.
I personnally would not change my meter to the latest and greatest unless I thought there would be a benefit to me. I'm interested in what is available and maybe trying out a new meter, but if it provided no benefit I would stick with my current one. Looking at the Accu-check mobile it STILL has an infra-red interface for connecting to a PC , so I would steer well clear of it. It seems Roche are determined to stay in the 80's while technology moves on. I'm not sure of what the benefits are supposed to be, it has an 'attached' finger pricker and supposedly no test strips to handle, but I can't really rate that as a benefit. I still need to prick my finger, I still need to put blood on the meter so no change there really. I prefer the lifescan ultrasmart. I can enter carbs and other stuff as well as recording BG's and it has a sensible USB interface that works reliably with a PC. We can also read the meter directly for uploading to the site, once the app to do it is complete. I would like to get hold of a Contour USB just to play with it and see if its better, but I wouldn't swap to it unless it is an improvement on my current meter.

Hello,

Tried out the Contour USB last night. It was a little bigger than I expected (only slightly smaller than my UltrEASY).

It does appear to be a very good meter, although as Mark says it doesn't do too much differently.

The Pro's are it uses a TINY amount of blood and the result takes a very quick 3 seconds. It's also useful having the software right there on the device so you can connect it to the PC and see the graphs etc, although for Windows you do need to have Java Runtime installed.

Con's - The carrying pouch is quite large (bigger than my ultraEASY) and the lancing device isn't quite as good as I'd expected.

Overall I do really like it as a meter and it is another step forward, albeit not a huge jump. One more difficulty for me is it looks like it's going to be tough to get at the raw data for my program. It doesn't use a COM port at all. It appears asa USB Composite device with a USB STOR to hold 500mb of your own files, plus an HID device. I'm guessing it's the HID part that handles the communication and Data so I'm off to email Bayer to see if they'll lend a hand.

I've just printed the license agreement for Lifescan so hoepfully get back to looking at the UltraSmart as soon as I get their protocol document ;o)

I could finish both the Lifescan meters just now, but I'm hoping to get things like the number of records stored on the meter so I can do progress bars, etc and also get at the Insulin and Carb info from the UltraSMART to eliminate manual entries altogether ;)

NiVZ

Nothing really to comment on the changing meter debate - my UltraSmart is looking pretty tired now, but I'd probably just exchange for a new one of them. Though I do like gadgets, so given something more high tech I may change my mind ;)

On Ruby - yes the site is coded in Ruby so both Mark and I have some experience in it. I wonder how we would package a Ruby app - there is an interpreter that needs to be installed before it can be 'run' so would users need to install this to run it? I've not had experience of making Ruby desktop apps so can't comment on that... Yet.

On the Contour USB meter - I'm sure they have some sort of API (Java, Proprietary or Otherwise) to interface with a meter, it's just a matter of getting hold of it (legitimately or otherwise).