Whole blood analyses in porous media
First Claim
1. A method of determining the concentration of particulate in a solution, comprising the steps of:
- (a) contacting a surface of a medium containing an inert substance with a solution containing particulate, said inert substance being inert with respect to said solution and said particulate;
(b) diffusing at least a portion of said solution across said surface into said medium;
(c) diffusing at least a portion of said inert substance from within said medium across the surface contacted by said solution, the diffusion of said inert substance from the medium being indicative of the amount of particulate in said solution; and
(d) determining the concentration of said particulate in said solution as a function of said inert substance diffusing from said medium.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Method and apparatus for analyzing whole blood samples which feature impregnating a gel medium used for the analysis of the whole blood sample with an inert substance. When the whole blood sample is placed on the gel medium, the inert substance diffuses from the gel as the plasma solutes of the blood diffuse into the gel. The amount of the inert substance diffusing from the gel medium is inversely proportional to the hematocrit of the blood sample. In one embodiment, plasma solutes are caused to react with one or more reagents in the gel medium to assay various specific analytes. Also, the hematocrit, indicated by the diffusion rate of the inert substance from the gel, is determined and used to correct such assay.
84 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method of determining the concentration of particulate in a solution, comprising the steps of:
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(a) contacting a surface of a medium containing an inert substance with a solution containing particulate, said inert substance being inert with respect to said solution and said particulate; (b) diffusing at least a portion of said solution across said surface into said medium; (c) diffusing at least a portion of said inert substance from within said medium across the surface contacted by said solution, the diffusion of said inert substance from the medium being indicative of the amount of particulate in said solution; and (d) determining the concentration of said particulate in said solution as a function of said inert substance diffusing from said medium.
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2. A method of determining hematocrit in a whole blood sample, comprising the steps of:
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(a) contacting a surface of a porous medium containing a water soluble inert substance with a whole blood sample, said inert substance being inert with respect to said whole blood sample; (b) diffusing for a period of time at least a portion of plasma solutes of said whole blood sample across said surface into said medium; (c) cross-diffusing for a corresponding period of time at least a portion of said inert substance from within said medium across the surface contacted by said whole blood, and (d) determining the concentration of said inert substance diffused from within said medium as indicative of the hematocrit of said whole blood sample. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An apparatus for determining hematocrit of a whole blood sample, said apparatus comprising:
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a gel mass having an exposed prescribed surface area adapted to receive a whole blood sample, whereby contact of said prescribed surface area by said whole blood sample for a given period of time will diffuse an aliquot of plasma solutes from said whole blood sample into said gel mass; a water soluble substance contained within said gel mass, said substance being inert with respect to any part of said whole blood sample and diffusable across said prescribed surface area when said gel mass is contacted to said whole blood sample, the quantity of said inert substance diffused from said gel mass being indicative of the hematocrit of said whole blood sample; a support for carrying said gel mass and defining said prescribed surface area; a reagent disposed within said gel mass for forming a detectable color-reaction product with at least one constituent of said whole blood sample, the presence of said inert substance within said gel mass in no way interfering with or affecting the detection of said color-reaction product; and means for independently measuring the said color-reaction product and, also, the amount of said inert substance in either said whole blood sample or said gel mass after said diffusion. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An automated system for determining the hematocrit of successive whole blood samples comprising:
- a continuous substrate supporting a plurality of porous media, at least selected ones of said media having exposed prescribed surface areas and containing a known concentration of a water soluble substance inert with respect to any part of said whole blood samples and, also, a given quantity of reagent for forming a color-reaction product with a particular analyte in said whole blood sample, said inert substance being diffusable from said selected media and soluble in said whole blood sample when contacted to said surface areas, a sample dispensing station for dispensing a whole blood sample onto the exposed surface area of each of said selected media for a controlled period of time, a measuring station for independently determining the color-reaction product formed within said selected media and, also, the quantity of said inert substance diffused from each of said selected media, as indicative of the hematocrit of said respective whole blood samples.
- View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
Specification