DEVICE AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY SAMPLING AND MEASURING BLOOD ANALYTES
First Claim
1. An automated device for sampling and measuring blood analytes, comprising:
- a sensor unit structured to be positioned on a patient body, the sensor unit including electronic circuitry, lancet firing means, and variable pressure control means; and
a replaceable cartridge having a plurality of consumable products disposed therein, the consumable products including one or more lancets and one or more test strips for measuring a blood analyte of the patient;
wherein the replaceable cartridge and the sensor unit are structured to temporarily mate with one another via an attachment means such that the replaceable cartridge is removable from the sensor unit;
wherein the electronic circuitry enables automated blood extraction and analysis of a blood analyte from the patient body iteratively over time without need for manual intervention; and
wherein the automated blood extraction and analysis is performed through electronically controlled use of the variable pressure control means, the lancet firing means, the one or more lancets, and the one or more blood test strips.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention includes a device and method used for automated sampling and measurement of blood analytes, such as blood glucose, from a subject patient. The blood sampling and measurement may be performed automatically by the device on a patient without requiring user intervention or supervision. The sampling and measuring device comprises a sensor unit operably attached to a replaceable cartridge. The replaceable cartridge provides a disposable body that contains a number of lancets and test strips used for collecting and analyzing a blood sample. The sensor unit contains an actuator and microcontroller that fires the lancet and collects blood sample data from the test strips. The blood sampling and measurement process may be initiated by an external controller or may be autonomously initiated in a specific interval. A further embodiment involves integration and use of the sampling and measurement device within an automated monitoring and treatment system.
80 Citations
64 Claims
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1. An automated device for sampling and measuring blood analytes, comprising:
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a sensor unit structured to be positioned on a patient body, the sensor unit including electronic circuitry, lancet firing means, and variable pressure control means; and a replaceable cartridge having a plurality of consumable products disposed therein, the consumable products including one or more lancets and one or more test strips for measuring a blood analyte of the patient; wherein the replaceable cartridge and the sensor unit are structured to temporarily mate with one another via an attachment means such that the replaceable cartridge is removable from the sensor unit; wherein the electronic circuitry enables automated blood extraction and analysis of a blood analyte from the patient body iteratively over time without need for manual intervention; and wherein the automated blood extraction and analysis is performed through electronically controlled use of the variable pressure control means, the lancet firing means, the one or more lancets, and the one or more blood test strips. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An automated device for sampling and measuring a blood analyte of a patient, comprising:
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a sensor unit structured to be positioned adjacent a measurement site of a patient, the sensor unit including an upper portion and a lower portion operably connected thereto, the sensor unit including an lancet firing means; and a replaceable cartridge in mating relationship with the sensor unit via an attachment means such that the replaceable cartridge is removable from the sensor unit, the replaceable cartridge housing a plurality of consumable products disposed therein for producing a blood sample, the consumable products including one or more lancets and one or more test strips for measuring the blood analyte of the patient; a microcontroller and electronic circuitry operably coupled to the sensor unit and capable of controlling use of the lancets and test strips relative to the measurement site; and a set of electronic instructions executable by the microcontroller such that upon execution, the electronic instructions causes the microcontroller to initiate a sequence comprising selecting a lancet for deployment at a measurement site, firing the lancet to obtain a blood sample from the measurement site, and collecting a blood sample from the measurement site onto a test strip; wherein the microcontroller receives inputs from the test strip to determine the blood analyte and further wherein the electronic instructions causes the microcontroller to initiate the sequence without the need for manual intervention. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An automated system for monitoring blood analytes of a patient, comprising:
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a sampling and measurement device structured to be positioned adjacent a measurement site of a patient, the device housing a replaceable supply of consumable products including a plurality of lancets and a plurality of test strips for the measurement of blood analytes; a microcontroller operably coupled to the sampling and measurement device and capable of controlling the plurality of lancets and plurality of test strips relative to the measurement site; and a set of electronic instructions executable by the microcontroller such that upon execution, the electronic instructions causes the microcontroller to initiate a sequence comprising selecting a lancet and test strip for use at the measurement site, firing the lancet to obtain a blood sample from the measurement site, collecting a blood sample from the measurement site; and
depositing the blood sample onto the test strip;wherein the microcontroller processes a electrochemical reaction from the test strip to determine the level of blood analytes and further wherein the electronic instructions causes the microcontroller to initiate the sequence without the need for manual intervention. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method for deploying an automated device for sampling and measuring blood analytes from a patient, comprising:
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positioning an automated sampling and measuring device proximate to a measurement site on a patient, the sampling and measuring device configured to obtain blood analyte measurements from blood samples initiated with an automated process; providing a set of replaceable materials to the automated sampling and measuring device, the set of replaceable materials including a plurality of reactive areas, each reactive area including one or more lancets and one or more test strips; performing an automated blood analyte sampling and measurement using a blood sample obtained from the measurement site, the blood sample introduced to one of the plurality of the reactive areas provided to the automated sampling and measuring device; and automatically repeating the step of performing a blood analyte measurement using a unused reactive area from the plurality of reactive areas, thereby performing a new blood analyte sampling and measurement at the measurement site without user intervention. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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56. A method for sampling and measuring of blood analytes from a patient with an automated device, comprising:
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affixing an automated sampling and measuring device to a patient, the sampling and measuring device accessing a supply of consumable products including a plurality of lancets and a plurality of test strips; and executing a set of electronic instructions by a microcontroller within the sampling and measuring device, the execution of the electronic instructions causing the microcontroller to initiate a sequence for sampling and measuring a level of a blood analyte with the sampling and measuring device, the sequence including; applying pressure proximate to a measurement site on the patient; firing a lancet to obtain a blood sample from the measurement site; exposing a test strip to the blood sample from the measurement site; and obtaining an electrochemical measurement of the blood analyte level from the test strip; wherein the set of electronic instructions for initiating the sampling and measuring the blood analyte level are executed by the microcontroller iteratively over a period of time or upon request, thereby enabling the sampling and measuring device to perform a series of automated sampling and measuring events without need for manual intervention. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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Specification