System and method for coding information on a biosensor test strip
First Claim
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1. A method for forming a test strip for measuring a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a basic test strip design comprising;
a substrate having a surface and at least one measurement electrode formed thereon;
a plurality of conductive contact pads formed upon the substrate surface, including at least one information contact pad and at least one measurement contact pad; and
a plurality of potential conductive links conductively coupling members of the plurality of contact pads;
wherein the at least one information contact pad is not coupled to any of the at least one measurement electrodes except by conductive paths comprising one or more of the plurality of potential conductive links, and the at least one measurement contact pad is coupled to one of the at least one measurement electrodes by a path excluding the plurality of potential conductive links;
defining a set of valid test strip designs;
wherein each one of the set of valid test strip designs incorporates none, one or more than one of the plurality of potential conductive links; and
wherein at least one of the plurality of potential conductive links couples a first one of the information contact pads to a first one of the measurement contact pads in a first valid test strip design, and at least one of the plurality of potential conductive links couples the first one of the information contact pads to a second one of the measurement contact pads in a second valid test strip design;
selecting one design from the set of valid test strip designs; and
forming a test strip per the selected one design.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a test strip for measuring a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, wherein the test strip may be encoded with information that can be read by a test meter into which the test strip is inserted.
150 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for forming a test strip for measuring a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a basic test strip design comprising;
a substrate having a surface and at least one measurement electrode formed thereon;
a plurality of conductive contact pads formed upon the substrate surface, including at least one information contact pad and at least one measurement contact pad; and
a plurality of potential conductive links conductively coupling members of the plurality of contact pads;
wherein the at least one information contact pad is not coupled to any of the at least one measurement electrodes except by conductive paths comprising one or more of the plurality of potential conductive links, and the at least one measurement contact pad is coupled to one of the at least one measurement electrodes by a path excluding the plurality of potential conductive links;
defining a set of valid test strip designs;
wherein each one of the set of valid test strip designs incorporates none, one or more than one of the plurality of potential conductive links; and
wherein at least one of the plurality of potential conductive links couples a first one of the information contact pads to a first one of the measurement contact pads in a first valid test strip design, and at least one of the plurality of potential conductive links couples the first one of the information contact pads to a second one of the measurement contact pads in a second valid test strip design;
selecting one design from the set of valid test strip designs; and
forming a test strip per the selected one design. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A plurality of test strips for measuring a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, each of the plurality of test strips being substantially identical to one another except for a presence or absence of a plurality of potential conductive links, at least one of the test strips comprising:
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a substrate having a surface and at least one measurement electrode formed thereon;
a plurality of conductive contact pads formed upon the substrate surface, including at least one information contact pad and at least one measurement contact pad; and
a plurality of conductive links selected from the plurality of potential conductive links, wherein the plurality of conductive links conductively couple at least three contact pads together, including at least one of the at least one measurement contact pad;
wherein the at least one information contact pad is not coupled to any of the at least one measurement electrodes except by conductive paths comprising one or more of the plurality of potential conductive links, and the at least one measurement contact pad is coupled to one of the at least one measurement electrodes by a path excluding the plurality of potential conductive links. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for forming a test strip for measuring a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a basic test strip design comprising;
a substrate having a surface and at least one measurement electrode formed thereon;
a plurality of conductive contact pads formed upon the substrate surface, including at least one information contact pad and at least one measurement contact pad; and
a plurality of potential conductive links conductively coupling members of the plurality of contact pads;
wherein the at least one information contact pad is not coupled to any of the at least one measurement electrodes except by conductive paths comprising one or more of the plurality of potential conductive links, and the at least one measurement contact pad is coupled to one of the at least one measurement electrodes by a path excluding of the plurality of potential conductive links;
defining a set of valid test strip designs;
wherein each one of the set of valid test strip designs incorporates none, one, or more than one of the plurality of potential conductive links; and
wherein at least one of the set of valid test strip designs includes conductive links that conductively couple at least three contact pads together, including at least one of the at least one measurement contact pad;
selecting one design from the set of valid test strip designs; and
forming a test strip per the selected one design. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A test strip for measuring a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, the test strip comprising:
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a substrate having a surface and at least one measurement electrode formed thereon;
a plurality of conductive contact pads formed upon the substrate surface, including at least one information contact pad and at least one measurement contact pad; and
at least one conductive link conductively coupling at least three of the contact pads, including at least one of the at least one measurement contact pad;
wherein the at least one information contact pad is not coupled to any of the at least one measurement electrodes except by conductive paths comprising one or more of the at least one conductive links, and the at least one measurement contact pad is coupled to one of the at least one measurement electrodes by a path excluding the at least one conductive links. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for reading data from a test strip adapted to measure a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, comprising the steps of:
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providing a test meter having at least one connector contact that touches an inserted test strip, providing a test strip adapted to be inserted into the test meter, the test strip comprising;
a substrate having a top surface;
a conductive layer formed on at least a portion of the substrate top surface; and
at least one predetermined contact pad position defined upon the substrate top surface;
touching each of the at least one predetermined contact pad positions with a respective one of the at least one connector contacts;
indicating a first binary bit within the test meter in response to a presence of the conductive layer in a respective one of the contact pad positions; and
indicating a second binary bit within the test meter in response to an absence of the conductive layer in a respective one of the contact pad positions. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A method for forming a test strip for measuring a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a basic test strip design comprising;
a substrate having a surface and at least one measurement electrode formed thereon;
a plurality of conductive contact pads formed upon the substrate surface, including at least one information contact pad and at least one measurement contact pad; and
a plurality of conductive links conductively coupling members of the plurality of contact pads;
wherein the at least one information contact pad is not coupled to any of the at least one measurement electrodes except by conductive paths comprising one or more of the plurality of conductive links, and the at least one measurement contact pad is coupled to one of the at least one measurement electrodes by a path excluding the plurality of conductive links;
defining a set of valid test strip designs;
wherein each one of the set of valid test strip designs is defined in part by a unique combination of conductive links that must be severed; and
wherein a first design is defined in part by having at least one conductive link between a first one of the measurement contact pads and a first one of the information contact pads that is not a conductive link that must be severed;
wherein a second design is defined in part by having at least one conductive link between a first one of the measurement contact pads and a second one of the information contact pads that is not a conductive link that must be severed;
selecting one design from the set of valid test strip designs; and
forming a test strip per the selected one design.
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26. A method of for forming a test strip for measuring a concentration of an analyte of interest in a biological fluid, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a basic test strip comprising a substrate having a surface and a plurality of measurement electrodes formed thereon, the plurality of measurement electrodes formed thereon being conductively coupled through at least one conductive link;
decoupling the measurement electrodes by severing the at least one conductive link.
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Specification