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
Buzud CGM
Provides the participant’s glucose readings from the Buzud sensor. It is stored internally as buzud_cgm. Besides the common data fields, each record includes the following fields:
-
Value: The glucose concentration measured by the sensor, in millimoles per liter (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 deciliter (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. Buzud records do not include Device ID or Relative Record Time.
[!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 checks Buzud’s servers for new readings every 30 minutes and stores anything new. Nothing is collected directly from the sensor by the Avicenna app. This means:
- Data appears in Avicenna only after the participant’s Buzud app has synced with Buzud’s servers, and the next check has run. If the participant’s phone is offline or the Buzud app is not running, the readings arrive later, in a batch.
- Each check covers the last six hours, so readings that reach Buzud up to six hours late are still collected. Readings that reach Buzud later than that are not collected.
- Avicenna checks for new readings only while the participant is in their participation period in a study that includes the Buzud CGM data source. Readings that have not reached Avicenna by the end of the participation period are not collected.
- If a participant is enrolled in more than one study that collects Buzud CGM, each study receives its own copy of the readings.
Adding Buzud As a Data Source
See Adding Data Sources. In the list of available data sources, choose Buzud CGM.
[!important] Participants Connect With Their Phone Number
Unlike most cloud data sources, Buzud identifies participants by phone number rather than by a username and password. When connecting, participants enter the phone number their Buzud account is registered with.
Monitoring and Exporting Buzud Data
You can export and download the collected Buzud data using the Data Export page. Exports are produced in CSV format.
[!note]
Buzud data is available through data export only. It is not indexed in Kibana.
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 on their phone and signed in to their Buzud account.
- Open the Avicenna app and go to Settings > My Studies.
- Select the study that collects Buzud data.
- Tap Data Sources.
- Find the Buzud CGM data source and tap Grant Access.
- A Connect your Buzud account page opens. Enter the phone number linked to your Buzud account and tap Connect. If the participant has connected Buzud before, or has a phone number in their Avicenna profile, the field is already filled in.
- Buzud sends an approval request to the participant. The page shows Almost there while it waits. Open the Buzud app and approve the request.
- Once Buzud confirms the approval, the page updates on its own to show that access has been granted. 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, and the Data Sources page shows access as granted the next time it is opened or refreshed.
If the page shows an error, check the following:
- “This phone number is already connected to another account”: another Avicenna account has already connected Buzud with this number.
- “Permission not granted”: the request was declined in the Buzud app. Start again from the Data Sources page.
- “This is taking longer than expected”: the request was not approved within 5 minutes. Start again from the Data Sources page.
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.