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Method for improving non-invasive determination of the concentration of analytes in a biological sample

  • US 6,241,663 B1
  • Filed: 04/29/1999
  • Issued: 06/05/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1998
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for determining the concentration of analyte in a biological sample comprising the steps of:

  • (1) providing an optical measuring instrument that comprises at least one thermally controllable optical measuring element that comes into contact with a surface of said biological sample;

    (2) applying an inert, thermally conductive, optically transparent coupling agent to said at least one optical measuring element or to said surface of said biological sample or both so that said coupling agent will be disposed at the interface of said surface of said biological sample and said at least one optical measuring element, said coupling agent having sufficiently high optical stability that the optical properties of said coupling agent do not change during optical measurements or during storage, said coupling agent having sufficiently high thermal conductivity to allow rapid, efficient heat transfer between said optical measuring element and said biological sample, said coupling agent having sufficiently high viscosity to prevent it from migrating from said interface, said coupling agent having sufficiently low viscosity to allow sufficient contact between said optical measuring element and said biological sample, said coupling agent having a refractive index higher than that of said biological sample over the temperature range of a measurement;

    (3) measuring at least one optical property of said biological sample by means of said at least one optical measuring element; and

    (4) correlating the at least one optical property of said biological sample with the concentration of said analyte in said biological sample.

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