Libre 2 to include a tracking ap?

[Amity Island]

Seems like an obvious addition, to have the coronavirus tracking app built into the long delayed libre 2.

 

[JohnWhi]

I suspect it would be a bit difficult, as the Near Field Communication used only covers a typical distance of 4cm.

 

[Robin]

I suspect it would be a bit difficult, as the Near Field Communication used only covers a typical distance of 4cm.

I thought the Libre 2 will be using Bluetooth?

Abbott′s FreeStyle® Libre 2, with Optional Real-Time Alarms, Secures CE Mark for Use in Europe

People living with diabetes in Europe will now have the choice to be alerted in real-time of hypoglycemia (low glucose levels1) or hyperglycemia (high glucose levels1) through the FreeStyle®...

abbott.mediaroom.com

However, bearing in mind they haven’t rolled it out in the UK yet and can’t say when they will, it seems a bit of a far off dream.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I thought the Libre 2 will be using Bluetooth?

I believe it'll be using Bluetooth LE as well as NFC, yes. (It's still a daft idea to think of building in coronavirus tracking, but fortunately I'm sure nobody's seriously considering it.)

 

[Amity Island]

I suspect it would be a bit difficult, as the Near Field Communication used only covers a typical distance of 4cm.

The libre 2 uses near field for scanning/swiping as you say, but also bluetooth3. Bluetooth can transmit up to 30m, could that not be used as a tracker or perhaps a gps tracker built in like in a mobile phone?

 

[Amity Island]

I believe it'll be using Bluetooth LE as well as NFC, yes. (It's still a daft idea to think of building in coronavirus tracking, but fortunately I'm sure nobody's seriously considering it.)

I don't think it's a "daft idea" considering there seems to be issues with the covid tracking app and Bluetooth cgm's. If they combine it and it works well, it might be a "very good" idea.

COVID-19 tracker app could interfere with CGM devices in Australia

People in Australia who rely on Bluetooth-connected continuous glucose monitor may experience issues when using a Government-approved COVID-19 tracker app.

www.diabetes.co.uk

 

[Amity Island]

I thought the Libre 2 will be using Bluetooth?

Abbott′s FreeStyle® Libre 2, with Optional Real-Time Alarms, Secures CE Mark for Use in Europe

People living with diabetes in Europe will now have the choice to be alerted in real-time of hypoglycemia (low glucose levels1) or hyperglycemia (high glucose levels1) through the FreeStyle®...

abbott.mediaroom.com

However, bearing in mind they haven’t rolled it out in the UK yet and can’t say when they will, it seems a bit of a far off dream.

Exactly what I am saying, plenty of time to make any necessary changes. There seems to already be issues with bluetooth cgm devices and the covid app.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Bluetooth can transmit up to 30m, could that not be used as a tracker or perhaps a gps tracker built in like in a mobile phone?

Not on the Libre 2 sensor, no. The Libre 2 sensor will use Bluetooth LE, but just for alarms (so rarely). I imagine there's some limit on how many times the alarms can be triggered because of the tiny battery. And anyway, only some tiny proportion of the population will have a Libre 2 sensor, and most of of them will be carrying a smartphone. And the extra functionality would presumably need to get past the regulators, which would take time.

So it's probably not practical (in terms of battery, if nothing else), it would be months in getting through the regulatory checks (which would be different for each region, with many of them not having a final design anyway), and wouldn't really add anything significant to the phone apps (since these sensors are so unusual). (And I suspect our NHSX phone app will mostly be useful in collecting people with symptoms and their locations and now and again sending out a test. The contact tracing bit needs such an adoption rate that I suspect it won't be useful.)

 

[Amity Island]

Not on the Libre 2 sensor, no. The Libre 2 sensor will use Bluetooth LE, but just for alarms (so rarely). I imagine there's some limit on how many times the alarms can be triggered because of the tiny battery. And anyway, only some tiny proportion of the population will have a Libre 2 sensor, and most of of them will be carrying a smartphone. And the extra functionality would presumably need to get past the regulators, which would take time.

So it's probably not practical (in terms of battery, if nothing else), it would be months in getting through the regulatory checks (which would be different for each region, with many of them not having a final design anyway), and wouldn't really add anything significant to the phone apps (since these sensors are so unusual). (And I suspect our NHSX phone app will mostly be useful in collecting people with symptoms and their locations and now and again sending out a test. The contact tracing bit needs such an adoption rate that I suspect it won't be useful.)

Bruce, I was only thinking of the probs at the moment in Australia with the covid tracker and cgm's. I suppose there could still be the opportunity to upgrade the Bluetooth to enable tracking, but like you say, may be too complicated to get through all the regulators?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I’m not expecting the tracking app to be open source standards and built with easy interoperability in mind to allow lots of organisations to contribute.

So I think Abbott are unlikely to invest significant resources into combining the government’s (as yet unknown) Covid 19 tracker functionality for a device with a primary user base of about 450,000 T1s in the UK?

 

[mikeyB]

I disable tracking on all my apps unless they are switched on. I may need to know what the weather forecast is where I happen to be, but I don’t let the app follow me around. Even my central heating app would like to know my whereabouts all the time, but I don’t allow it. Why? Because if it knows, lots of folk could know.

I won’t be installing any government app, simply because I don’t trust them to keep the data secure. Or even private. I may not be able to install it anyway, because Apple devices are very fussy about the apps they install. If they aren’t Apple certified, they don’t install. Android devices are less fussy, which is why they are much less secure. I doubt that the government have bothered to get Apple certification. You can work round it, but it isn’t wise to do it.

 

[Eddy Edson]

The current advice from Diabetes Australia is to simply uninstall the COVIDSafe app if it's interfering with CGM's. CGM users are such a tiny proportion of the population that it will have negligble impact on the app's effectiveness.

Not an issue big enough for anybody to care much about in this context. The app is just a tool to help human contact tracers do what they are already doing & doesn't in any way replace them - it's not really critical to anything. In the UK, where it seems that the app is supposed to be more of a critical piece of contact tracing, supplementing humans to some extent, I guess it could be more of an issue, if only a bit more.

The Oz app is derived from the Singaporean and has the same probs running in the background on iOS. This is obviously a much bigger issue. The govt says it's working on integrating the Apple/Google tech to overcome this.

It seems the UK govt has taken a different build-your-own approach, no doubt based in part on the track record of large government greenfield IT projects

/sarc off

 

[nonethewiser]

Some misgivings about app as it could cause mass hysteria, unnecessarily.

Just imagine someone riding the trains & tubes in London commuting for work, how many people will they come in contact with, if they were carrier of covid does it mean all others will have it too, maybe small percentage if any.

It will have knock on effect cause all those folk contacted by app will think they have passed it on to family friends people they have been in contqct with, then round & round it goes.

 

[chrissieholmes65]

Seems like an obvious addition, to have the coronavirus tracking app built into the long delayed libre 2.

Is there a whereabouts tracking possibility with the Libre? I ask as a local lad, who is diabetic type 1 and uses Libre, has gone missing. He was taken to hospital last night drunk but left this morning at 3.45am and not seen since. Battery is dead in phone. Someone said his Libre might be able to be tracked from hospital but I have never heard this before, although it would be a good addition.

 

[Robin]

Is there a whereabouts tracking possibility with the Libre? I ask as a local lad, who is diabetic type 1 and uses Libre, has gone missing. He was taken to hospital last night drunk but left this morning at 3.45am and not seen since. Battery is dead in phone. Someone said his Libre might be able to be tracked from hospital but I have never heard this before, although it would be a good addition.

I wonder if they were thinking of the hospital being able to see his graph. But this is only possible from a feed through his phone, which if it’s dead, won’t be recording data.
It also only lets the hospital see the blood glucose stats, not the location of the phone supplying the info.

 

[chrissieholmes65]

I wonder if they were thinking of the hospital being able to see his graph. But this is only possible from a feed through his phone, which if it’s dead, won’t be recording data.
It also only lets the hospital see the blood glucose stats, not the location of the phone supplying the info.

Thank you. That makes it clearer.