Reagentless analysis of biological samples
First Claim
1. A method for (a) determining concentration of at least one analyte of interest in a biological sample by means of a spectroscopic analysis and (b) measuring refractive index of said biological sample, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a beam of light for a spectroscopic measurement;
(b) providing a beam of light for a refractive index measurement, said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement and said beam of light for said refractive index measurement beam not being co-linear;
(c) providing a sample cell assembly for containing a biological sample to be used in determining concentration at least one analyte in said biological sample, said sample cell assembly comprising;
(1) a port into which said biological sample can be introduced into the sample cell assembly;
(2) said port of (a) communicating with an expansion zone;
(3) said expansion zone communicating with a read zone;
(4) said read zone communicating with a contraction zone;
(5) said contraction zone communicating with a port from which said biological sample can be removed from said sample cell assembly;
(6) a first pair of windows; and
(7) a second pair of windows, said second pair of windows comprising a first window having two major surfaces and a second window having two major surfaces, said major surfaces of said first window not being parallel to said major surfaces of said second window. (d) introducing a biological sample into said sample cell assembly;
(e) introducing said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement into said sample;
(f) introducing said beam of light for said refractive index measurement into said sample;
(g) detecting said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement emerging from said sample;
(h) detecting said beam of light for said refractive index measurement emerging from said sample;
(i) determining concentration of said analyte from said detected beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement;
(h) determining said refractive index of said sample from said detected beam of light for said refractive index measurement.
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Abstract
Apparatus and method for determining at least one parameter, e.g., concentration, of at least one analyte, e.g., urea, of a biological sample, e.g., urine. A biological sample particularly suitable for the apparatus and method of this invention is urine. In general, spectroscopic measurements can be used to quantify the concentrations of one or more analytes in a biological sample. In order to obtain concentration values of certain analytes, such as hemoglobin and bilirubin, visible light absorption spectroscopy can be used. In order to obtain concentration values of other analytes, such as urea, creatinine, glucose, ketones, and protein, infrared light absorption spectroscopy can be used. The apparatus and method of this invention utilize one or more mathematical techniques to improve the accuracy of measurement of parameters of analytes in a biological sample. The invention also provides an apparatus and method for measuring the refractive index of a sample of biological fluid while making spectroscopic measurements substantially simultaneously.
143 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for (a) determining concentration of at least one analyte of interest in a biological sample by means of a spectroscopic analysis and (b) measuring refractive index of said biological sample, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a beam of light for a spectroscopic measurement;
(b) providing a beam of light for a refractive index measurement, said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement and said beam of light for said refractive index measurement beam not being co-linear;
(c) providing a sample cell assembly for containing a biological sample to be used in determining concentration at least one analyte in said biological sample, said sample cell assembly comprising;
(1) a port into which said biological sample can be introduced into the sample cell assembly;
(2) said port of (a) communicating with an expansion zone;
(3) said expansion zone communicating with a read zone;
(4) said read zone communicating with a contraction zone;
(5) said contraction zone communicating with a port from which said biological sample can be removed from said sample cell assembly;
(6) a first pair of windows; and
(7) a second pair of windows, said second pair of windows comprising a first window having two major surfaces and a second window having two major surfaces, said major surfaces of said first window not being parallel to said major surfaces of said second window. (d) introducing a biological sample into said sample cell assembly;
(e) introducing said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement into said sample;
(f) introducing said beam of light for said refractive index measurement into said sample;
(g) detecting said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement emerging from said sample;
(h) detecting said beam of light for said refractive index measurement emerging from said sample;
(i) determining concentration of said analyte from said detected beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement;
(h) determining said refractive index of said sample from said detected beam of light for said refractive index measurement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification