Buzud

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Integrating Buzud’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors with Avicenna gives researchers around-the-clock interstitial glucose readings alongside surveys, cognitive tasks, and the other data sources collected in the same study, without asking participants to export or upload anything themselves.

Supported Buzud Metrics in Avicenna

Besides the common data fields, each record of Buzud CGM data in Avicenna includes the following fields:

  • Value: The glucose concentration measured by the sensor, in millimoles per litre (mmol/L). Internally stored as value.

  • Unit: The unit of measurement the reading is expressed in, recorded as a numeric code. Buzud reports glucose in mmol/L only, so this value is constant in practice and can be ignored during analysis. Internally stored as unit.

  • Device Serial Number: The serial number of the sensor that produced the reading. Useful for telling successive sensor sessions apart, since a participant replaces the sensor periodically over the course of a study. Internally stored as device_sn.

  • Trend: The direction and rate of change of the participant’s glucose at the time of the reading. Internally stored as trend. Possible values:

    Value Trend
    1 Rapidly Rising
    2 Rising
    3 Slowly Rising
    4 Steady
    5 Slowly Falling
    6 Falling
    7 Rapidly Falling

  • Sensor Status: The state the sensor was in when the reading was produced. Only readings taken while the sensor is Monitoring represent a settled, valid measurement. Internally stored as sensor_status. Possible values:

    Value Sensor Status Meaning
    0 Monitoring Normal operation; the reading is valid.
    1 Stabilizing The sensor is settling after insertion and readings are not yet reliable.
    2 Sensor Error The sensor reported a fault.
    3 Replace Sensor The sensor has reached the end of its life and must be replaced.
    4 Waiting for Signal The transmitter is not currently in contact with the sensor.
    5 Sensor Warm-Up The sensor is warming up immediately after insertion.
    6 Sensor Expired The sensor’s wear period has elapsed.
    7 Invalid Glucose Reading The reading could not be interpreted as a valid glucose value.

  • Sensor Remaining Life: How much wear time the sensor has left before it must be replaced, in milliseconds. Internally stored as sensor_remaining_life.

[!note]
To convert a glucose value to milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL), multiply it by 18.

[!note]
For Buzud, Record Time is the moment the reading was taken by the sensor as reported by Buzud, not the moment Avicenna received it. The two can differ noticeably when a participant’s phone has been offline.

[!warning]
Every reading Buzud returns is stored, whatever state the sensor was in at the time. Filter on Sensor Status when analyzing exported data so that warm-up, error, and invalid readings do not enter your results.

Data Collection Behavior

The Buzud sensor measures interstitial glucose roughly once a minute and sends its readings to the Buzud app on the participant’s phone, which in turn uploads them to Buzud’s servers. Avicenna polls those servers on a schedule and stores any new readings it finds. Avicenna never connects to the sensor itself, so:

  • Data appears in Avicenna only after the participant’s Buzud app has synchronized with Buzud’s servers. If the participant’s phone is offline or the Buzud app is not running, the readings reach Buzud late, and Avicenna cannot see them until they do.
  • Avicenna collects readings only while the participant is actively enrolled in a study that includes the Buzud CGM data source. Polling starts when the participant grants access and stops when the study period ends. Readings taken shortly before enrollment may fall inside the first polling window and be included.
  • If a participant is enrolled in more than one study collecting Buzud CGM, each study receives its own copy of the readings.

[!note]
Avicenna checks Buzud’s servers for new readings about every 30 minutes, so expect a delay of up to half an hour between a reading being taken and it becoming visible in Avicenna.

Adding Buzud As a Data Source

See Adding Data Sources. In the list of available data sources, choose Buzud CGM.

[!important] Participants Need a Verified Phone Number
Unlike most cloud data sources, Buzud identifies participants by phone number rather than by a username and password. A participant can only connect Buzud if the phone number in their Avicenna profile is filled in and verified, and it must be the same number their Buzud account is registered with. If your study collects Buzud data, plan for phone verification as part of onboarding.

Monitoring and Exporting Buzud Data

You can export and download the collected Buzud data using the Data Export page.

Buzud Data Source in Participant App

After joining a study, participants must grant Avicenna access to collect their Buzud data. Before they start, they need the Buzud app installed and signed in on the same phone, using the same phone number as their Avicenna profile.

  1. Open the Avicenna app and go to Settings > My Studies.

  2. Select the study that collects Buzud data.

  3. Tap Data Sources.

  4. Find the Buzud CGM data source and tap Grant Access.

  5. Avicenna asks Buzud to send an authorization request to the participant’s phone number. A page opens asking the participant to approve the request, and Buzud delivers the request to them both as an SMS and as a notification in the Buzud app.

    [!note]
    If the participant’s Avicenna profile has no verified phone number, the page asks them to add and verify one in their profile first, then start again. There is no way to enter a phone number from within this flow.

  1. The participant approves the request, either by tapping the link in the SMS or by approving the notification in the Buzud app.

  2. Once Buzud confirms the approval, the connect page updates on its own to show that access has been granted, and the Buzud CGM data source appears as granted the next time the Data Sources page is opened or refreshed. Collection begins from that point onward.

    [!note]
    If the participant closes the page before approving, the approval still goes through. Buzud confirms it to Avicenna directly, so the Data Sources page updates the next time it is refreshed.

Participants can stop sharing data at any time by returning to the Data Sources page for the study and tapping Revoke Access. Data collected before revocation is retained.

Reference Index