On uploading CSV files

Many users prefer to have a local copy of their blood markers at home as a CSV, or sometimes receive a copy like that from other companies like InsideTracker and wish to use the same results. Using a CSV file upload option is a fast, accurate way to have your results immediately inside our system.

What is a CSV file?

Imagine you have a recipe book, but instead of fancy formatting, it’s just written out plainly. A CSV file is like that recipe book for data. It’s a simple text file that stores information in a table format, even though it might not look like a table at first glance.

Here’s the key:

• Comma Separated: The data is separated by commas, like commas separating ingredients in a list. This is why it’s called Comma-Separated Values (CSV).
• Lines for Entries: Each line in the file represents a single entry, like a recipe in your recipe book.
• Plain Text: It’s just basic text, readable with any simple text editor, though you’ll see the data in its comma-separated format.

For example, a CSV file might store your contact list:

Name,Email,Phone
John Doe,john.doe@email.com,555-123-4567
Jane Smith,jane.smith@email.com,555-789-0123

Here, each line is a contact, with commas separating their name, email, and phone number.

The beauty of CSV files is their simplicity. They can be easily opened by many programs, like spreadsheet software (like Excel) that can turn the data into a nice table format, or even some databases. This makes them a great way to transfer data between different applications.

Supported Headers

In addition to the actual markers we support the following headers:

• Definition Header – what is the marker testing (LDL Cholesterol for example)
  • *** this is the only mandatory header
• Marker Type Header – how is the result measured – inches? centimeters?
• Category – name of the category this marker is part of
• Boundary – minimum and maximum allowed values for this marker

The rest of the headers would be the dates of the tests.

For example, this could be a CSV file format we support:

We will configure this file with:

• Definition – 1
• Marker Type – 2
• Category – no configuration
• Boundary – no configuration