Method and System for Providing a Fault Tolerant Display Unit in an Electronic Device
Method and apparatus for providing a fault tolerant display unit for an electronic device such as a glucose meter, including display unit, and a controller unit operatively coupled to the display unit, the controller unit configured to control the display unit to display an information, where when a failure mode of the display unit occurs, the display unit is configured to display a modified information, where the modified information is different from the information for display under the control of the controller unit, is provided.
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The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/345,044 filed Jan. 31, 2006, entitled “Method and System for Providing a Fault Tolerant Display Unit in an Electronic Device”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUNDIn a conventional seven segment display such as those used on LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays), the display wiring is routed without consideration for fault tolerance, and the icon (or pixel) selection matrix is typically generated to match the display. Such configuration allows for erroneous results to be displayed and could potentially result in patient mistreatment, for example, in the case where the seven segment display configurations are used in medical devices such as, but not limited to, glucose meters.
By way of an example, a glucose reading from a blood glucose meter used by diabetic patients that shows a value of 150 when in fact the actual measured value from the test strip using the glucose meter is 450 will inform the patient that they are in a good (clinically acceptable) range when in fact, the patient's condition requires immediate medical attention, for example. In addition, a failure of a decimal point in the displayed value may also erroneously inform the patient to take corrective actions that are either inaccurate (and thus potentially harmful), or to provide the patient with false positive values (those values are erroneous readings but are good values in the context of health treatment).
While some erroneous displayed values may be acceptable and thus not medically significant (such as, for example a glucose reading of 163 mg/dL which is erroneously displayed as 153 mg/dL), those other erroneous displayed values may potentially guide the patient to take corrective actions that are in fact therapeutically inappropriate (or alternatively, providing a false sense of accuracy, to guide the patient to take no action at all, when in fact, corrective medical action is necessary, as described above).
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have an approach to provide fault tolerance in the display unit of an electronic device including medical devices such that failure modes of the electronic device display unit will show output values to the patient or the user of the electronic device that are either nonsensical, or clinically insignificant. In this manner, the failed display unit of the electronic device does not erroneously impact the patient decision based on the output display of the electronic device. Moreover, when a nonsensical value is displayed, the user of the electronic device such as a medical device will be aware that the device is malfunctioning, and will likely not continue its use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn view of the foregoing, in accordance with the various embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method and system for fault tolerant configurations of a seven segment display of an electronic device including medical devices such as the LCD display of a glucose meter. For example, in certain embodiments if an LCD failure occurs, the result displayed will not be a number, or alternatively, the erroneous number displayed are in the A or B region of the Clarke Error Grid (that is, in the acceptable range of values in the case of measured glucose values) or analogous range of another analysis protocol, e.g., Parks Error Grid, Continuous Glucose Error Grid, MARD analysis, and the like. Therefore, fault tolerance minimizes the chance of an incorrect number being displayed and reduces the effect of a potential error on patient treatment.
More specifically, in accordance with the various embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a fault tolerant display unit which may be configured to mitigate the effects of a display failure. More specifically, in one embodiment, if a display failure occurs (by, for example, a single pixel or multiple pixel failures), the displayed results may be configured to display an invalid number. Alternatively, in the case of glucose meters, the display failure may be mitigated by displaying, in one embodiment, measured glucose values that are within the A or B region of the Clarke Error Grid or the like, and thus, the error is not clinically significant to the patient using the glucose meter.
In this manner, in one embodiment, the probability of an incorrect value being displayed can be minimized, and the effect of a potential error on the patient treatment (based on incorrect value) may be reduced if an incorrect number is displayed.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.
A crystal 105 may be provided and operatively coupled to the microprocessor 104, and configured to set timing for the microprocessor 104 such that the information or data received from the strip interface 103 has a predetermined and known timing and an accurate glucose value may be determined Additionally, a non-volatile memory 106 may be operatively coupled to the microprocessor 104 and configured for storing program processes such as algorithms, setup and/or calibration parameters as well as glucose readings received from the strip port 102. A temporary storage device such as SRAM 107 or the like may be provided and operatively coupled to the microprocessor 104, for temporary data storage and program execution.
Also shown is a display unit 108 which may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) for output, displaying data and information. An LCD lens 109 is also provided and includes the clear section of the display unit housing that permits the LCD display unit 108 to be viewed. Input devices 110 and 111 are also provided and operatively coupled to the microprocessor 104, and configured to allow the user of the glucose meter 101 to input information and/or control the glucose meter 101 by operating as the user interface providing a user menu navigation. A control button 110 and mode button 111 may be provided to allow the user to toggle between various operational modes for the glucose meter 101 including, for example, calibration, data, recall, storage, and the like.
Referring still to
Additional features such as an LCD backlight or test light to illuminate the strip port may be provided to the blood glucose meter 101. The controller unit 104 may be a microcontroller (μC) such as the MSP430FG439 that may incorporate the strip interface 103, non-volatile memory 106, memory (SRAM) 107, controller for the LCD 108, and interface for the communications module 113. Moreover, the controller unit 104 may be configured to control the operations of the various components of the blood glucose meter 101 as shown in
In
There are several different types of common LCD failures. A connector failure occurs when the connection between the printed circuit board (PCB) and LCD connector fails to make contact. Some examples include, but is not limited to, heat-seal failures, zebra strip failures and pad failures. A driver failure occurs when the LCD driver fails to operate properly. Some examples include ESD and other types of LCD driver failures. Finally, a connector short failure occurs when foreign material is introduced onto the connector causing two or more signals or pads to short together. When this type of failure occurs, most errors that result in a number will tend towards an eight (“8”). Since the blood glucose meter 101 does not have an eight in the first digit of its display, this type of error, though it must be checked for each individual design, tends to result in A or B region errors on the Clarke Error Grid even if they occur in the second digit, or numbers that are beyond the glucose meter range, or nonsensical numbers.
Failure modes for the blood glucose meter 101 includes (1) failure of a row or common, (2) a first digit error, (3) missing decimal point or first digit, or (4) other digit errors. When a row or common line fails, all segments connected to that row or common line fail and is commonly caused by connector failure. For example, referring for example to
When a first digit error occurs due to a poor connection, for example, a first digit “4” or “3” becomes a “1”, such that, for example, a “4xx” value is displayed as “1xx”, and “3xx” is displayed as “1xx”, respectively. When there is a missing decimal point or a first digit, a failure of this type generally results in a critical error and is also commonly found with a connector failure. This error results in the entire first digit not being displayed or the decimal point missing, and may result in an error as great as an entire order of magnitude. An error on this scale may result in patient mistreatment, and tends to fall in the D or E regions of the Clarke Error Grid.
When digit errors occur, a given digit of a seven segment display is erroneously displayed because of a segment failure within the seven segment display for the particular digit. Examples of digit errors are further illustrated by the Table A shown below which illustrates the original display (or the proper or accurate display) in the first column, and the actual display with the digit error in the second column, and the missing segment causing the digit error in the third column. For example, with reference to
In the manner shown above, it can be seen that even with a single segment failure, a significant or critical error may be displayed if the failed segment is associated with the most significant digit in, for example, a three digit display unit. That is, referring to the Table A above, a failed segment G will result in the number 8” to be displayed as “0”, which error may be significant in the context of values or measurements of a patient parameter upon which medical treatment is based (note that an value of 180 displayed as a 100 is in the B region of the Clarke Error Grid in the case of glucose measurements).
Referring again to
A common failure in a seven-segment LCD display unit is having a pad or connector loose contact, resulting in a loss of the respective segment(s). This failure generally occurs near the outer edges of the LCD connector for heat seal connectors. To reduce the impact of this type of failure, in one embodiment, with reference to
Moreover, this approach in one embodiment may be applied to the display unit configuration as shown in
The row 3/comm 1 location indicated with “**” may be used for another icon or other symbols on the display but which is not needed for the primary display segments.
In this manner, it can be seen that the possibility of an erroneous number or value displayed is substantially minimized. More specifically, for example as shown in the embodiment of
For example, if row 2 connector fails, then segments A, C and D fail, resulting in a display of nonsensical number. Moreover, if comm 3 connector fails, then the decimal point DP fails in addition to segments C and E, again, rendering the output display to be nonsensical, and with the disabled decimal point DP. In this manner, in one embodiment of the present invention, a substantially fault tolerant seven segment LCD display configuration is provided which substantially minimizes the possibility of erroneously displaying a value to the patient and which may be the basis of inaccurate and/or inappropriate patient treatment.
The location indicated with a “*” may be used for a second decimal point (DP) if needed or alternatively, for an icon displayed on the display unit, and the location indicated with a “**” may be used for icons or other symbols on the display but is not needed for the segments.
In one embodiment, the layout shown in
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fault tolerant three digit LCD display unit which does not display any cross point pixels (pixels that are always displayed caused by a row connector and a common connector crossing). In this case, a 4×12 mapping may be used in accordance with the layout shown in Table D below which includes twelve row connectors and four common connectors.
In this manner, inadvertent display errors may be mitigated while also minimizing the number of cross point pixels on an LCD. The third digit for this method can also be located in other locations in the truth table without sacrificing fault tolerance as it is not a critical digit. The open spaces in Table E shown with the “−” may be used for icons or other symbols, provided that they do not create cross points between the rows and commons (columns). This approach in one embodiment eliminates critical errors, such as missing decimal point and missing first digit, but may not eliminate all errors. However, the errors that occur will fall into either the A or B region of the Clarke Error Grid, that is, within the acceptable tolerance range, and thus prove to be clinically acceptable.
In this manner, in accordance with the various embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method and system for fault tolerant configuration of a seven segment display of an electronic device including medical devices such as the LCD display of a glucose meter. That is, if an LCD failure occurs, the result displayed will not be a number, or alternatively, the erroneous number displayed are in the A or B region of the Clarke Error Grid (that is, in the acceptable/tolerance range of values in the case of measured glucose values). Therefore, the fault tolerance approach in accordance with the present invention minimizes the chance of an incorrect number being displayed and reduces the effect of a potential error on patient treatment.
In accordance with the various embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a fault tolerant display unit which may be configured to mitigate the effects of display failure. More specifically, in one embodiment, if a display failure occurs (by, for example, a single pixel or multiple pixels failures and/or pad or connector failures), the displayed results may be configured to display an invalid number. Alternatively, in the case of glucose meters, the display failure may be mitigated by displaying, in one embodiment, measured glucose values that are within the A or B region of the Clarke Error Grid.
In this manner, in one embodiment, the probability of an incorrect value being displayed can be minimized, and the effect of a potential error on the patient treatment (based on incorrect value) may be reduced if an incorrect number is displayed.
Indeed, an apparatus including a fault tolerant display unit for an electronic device in one embodiment of the present invention includes a display unit, a controller unit operatively coupled to the display unit, the controller unit configured to control the display unit to display information, where when a failure mode of the display unit occurs, the display unit is configured to display modified information, where the modified information is different from the information for display under the control of the controller unit.
The display unit in one embodiment may include a seven segment Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) unit with one or more digits.
Additionally, the display unit may be configured to display one or more health related values, where the one or more health related values may include one or more of a measured glucose value, a cholesterol level, and a blood alcohol level.
The failure mode of the display unit in one embodiment includes one or more of a connector failure, a display unit driver failure, or a connector short.
Moreover, one of an RF receiver unit, wherein the display unit may be coupled to a housing of the RF receiver unit.
In an another embodiment, an infusion device may also be provided, where the display unit may be coupled to a housing of the infusion device. The infusion device may include an external insulin pump, an implantable insulin pump, or an on-body patch pump.
Moreover, in a further embodiment, a glucose meter may be provided, where the display unit is coupled to a housing of the glucose meter.
The displayed modified information associated with the detected failure mode in one embodiment is non-informative.
A method of providing display fault tolerance in an electronic device in another embodiment includes the steps of receiving one or more commands to display information on a display unit, detecting a failure mode associated with the display unit, and displaying modified information on the display unit associated with the detected failure mode.
In one embodiment, the step of displaying may include the step of disabling a predetermined segment of the information for display such that the displayed information is a subset of the information for display, and further, where the subset of the information for display may be non-informative.
A display unit of an electronic device in yet another embodiment of the present invention includes a display portion, and a controller coupled to the display portion, the display portion configured to display a predetermined information based on one or more commands received from the controller, where, when a failure mode is detected in the display portion, the one or more commands received from the controller to display the predetermined information does not change.
Various other modifications and alterations in the structure and method of operation of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the present invention and that structures and methods within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.
Claims
1. A method of providing display fault tolerance in an electronic device, comprising the steps of:
- receiving one or more commands to display an information on a display unit;
- detecting a failure mode associated with the display unit; and
- displaying a modified information on the display unit associated with the detected failure mode.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 31, 2012
Publication Date: Jul 18, 2013
Applicant: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc. (Alameda, CA)
Inventor: Abbott Diabetes Care Inc. (Alameda, CA)
Application Number: 13/731,931
International Classification: G09G 3/18 (20060101);