Method and Apparatus for Non-Invasive Monitoring of Blood Substances Using Self-Sampled Tears
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for determining the concentration of a substance in blood, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
a test probe arranged to be received within the housing, the test probe arranged to engage an eye region of a user to obtain a tear fluid sample while the test probe is received within the housing;
a sensor disposed within the housing in communication with the test probe for generating a signal related to the tear substance concentration; and
a processor disposed within the housing in communication with the sensor for determining a blood substance concentration corresponding to the tear substance concentration.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for non-invasively determining the concentration of a substance in blood, such as glucose, include a sample portion arranged for contacting an eye region of a user to obtain a tear fluid sample, a sensor in communication with the sample portion for generating a signal related to the tear substance concentration, and a processor in communication with the sensor for determining a blood substance concentration corresponding to the tear substance concentration.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining the concentration of a substance in blood, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing;
a test probe arranged to be received within the housing, the test probe arranged to engage an eye region of a user to obtain a tear fluid sample while the test probe is received within the housing;
a sensor disposed within the housing in communication with the test probe for generating a signal related to the tear substance concentration; and
a processor disposed within the housing in communication with the sensor for determining a blood substance concentration corresponding to the tear substance concentration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An apparatus for determining glucose concentration in a tear fluid sample, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing;
a test probe arranged to be received within the housing, the test probe arranged to engage an eye region of a user to obtain a tear fluid sample while the test probe is received within the housing;
a sensor disposed within the housing in communication with the test probe for generating a signal related to the glucose concentration in the tear fluid sample; and
a processor in communication with the sensor for processing the signal to determine the tear glucose concentration.
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17. An apparatus for determining glucose concentration in blood, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing;
a test probe arranged to be received within the housing, the test probe having an inlet arranged to engage an eye region of a user to obtain a tear fluid sample while the test probe is received within the housing, the test probe having an enzyme provided therein for initiating a reaction with the tear fluid sample, wherein a volume of the tear fluid sample held by the test probe is less than about 0.5 μ
L;
a sensor disposed within the housing in communication with the test probe for detecting a signal generated by the reaction;
a processor in communication with the sensor for determining a tear glucose concentration from the detected signal and correlating the determined tear glucose concentration with a blood glucose concentration; and
means for providing an output indicative of the blood glucose concentration. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification