Method and apparatus for performing and quantifying color changes induced by specific concentrations of biological analytes in an automatically calibrated environment
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for quantifying color change of at least one test medium on a diagnostic instrument, the method comprising:
- capturing a digital image of at least a portion of the diagnostic instrument, which has been exposed to a biological sample, the diagnostic instrument comprising at least one color reference comprising a plurality of reference samples of different colors and a plurality of test medium respectively having a plurality of reagents, each reagent changing color in the presence of particular analytes in the biological sample;
identifying at least one of the plurality of reference samples for at least one of the plurality of test medium in the diagnostic instrument;
determining a dominant camera-captured color of the at least one reference sample and a dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium;
color correcting the dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium based on a correction factor derived at least in part from the dominant camera-captured color of the reference sample to determine a corrected test medium color; and
comparing the corrected test medium color to a set of possible test medium colors corresponding to predetermined analyte concentrations to determine a test result including an analyte concentration of the biological sample being tested.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and electronic devices for performing color-based reaction testing of biological materials. The method includes capturing and interpreting digital images of an unexposed and later exposed paddle at various delay times within an automatically calibrated environment. The test paddle includes a unique identification mechanism (UID), a Reference Color Bar (RCB) providing samples of standardized colors for image color calibration, compensation and corrections, and several test-specific sequences of Chemical Test Pads (CTP). The method further includes locating the paddle in the image, extracting the UID and validating the paddle, extracting the RCB and locating the plurality of CTP in each image. The method further reduces image noise in the CTP and calibrates the image automatically according to lighting measurements performed on the RCB. To determine test results, the method further determines several distances between the CTP and its possible trajectory in the color space described by the Manufacturer Interpretation Color Chart.
100 Citations
38 Claims
-
1. A computer-implemented method for quantifying color change of at least one test medium on a diagnostic instrument, the method comprising:
-
capturing a digital image of at least a portion of the diagnostic instrument, which has been exposed to a biological sample, the diagnostic instrument comprising at least one color reference comprising a plurality of reference samples of different colors and a plurality of test medium respectively having a plurality of reagents, each reagent changing color in the presence of particular analytes in the biological sample; identifying at least one of the plurality of reference samples for at least one of the plurality of test medium in the diagnostic instrument; determining a dominant camera-captured color of the at least one reference sample and a dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium; color correcting the dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium based on a correction factor derived at least in part from the dominant camera-captured color of the reference sample to determine a corrected test medium color; and comparing the corrected test medium color to a set of possible test medium colors corresponding to predetermined analyte concentrations to determine a test result including an analyte concentration of the biological sample being tested. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A system for reading diagnostic test results, the system comprising:
-
a diagnostic instrument comprising a paddle, a color reference mounted to the paddle having a plurality of color reference samples of different colors, and a plurality of test media mounted to the paddle, the plurality of test media respectively containing reagents which change color in the presence of particular analytes in a biological sample; and a portable electronic device comprising a camera sensor for capturing a digital image of at least a portion of the diagnostic instrument and a processor configured to; identify at least one of the plurality of color reference samples and at least one of the plurality of test media in the digital image of the diagnostic instrument; determine a dominant camera-captured color of a reference sample and a dominant camera-captured color of at least one test medium; color correct the dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium based on a correction factor derived at least in part from the dominant camera-captured color of the reference sample to determine a corrected test medium color; and compare the corrected test medium color to a set of possible test medium colors corresponding to predetermined analyte concentrations to determine a test result including an analyte concentration of the biological sample being tested. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
32. A portable electronic device for analyzing a digital image of a diagnostic instrument, the portable electronic device comprising:
-
at least one processor to execute program instructions; at least one display device in communication with the at least one processor; at least one camera sensor in communication with the at least one processor; and at least one computer-readable medium in communication with the at least one processor, the at least one computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the portable electronic device to; capture a digital image of at least a portion of the diagnostic instrument, which has been exposed to a biological sample, with the camera sensor, the diagnostic instrument comprising at least one color reference comprising a plurality of reference samples of different colors and at least one test medium containing a reagent, which changes color in the presence of particular analytes in the biological sample; identify, in the digital image, at least one of the reference samples for the at least one test medium of the diagnostic instrument; determine, in the digital image, a dominant camera-captured color of the at least one reference sample and a dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium; color correct the dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium based on a correction factor derived at least in part from the dominant camera-captured color of the at least one reference sample to determine a corrected test medium color; and compare the corrected test medium color to a set of possible test medium colors corresponding to predetermined analyte concentrations to determine a test result including an analyte concentration of the biological sample being tested. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-
Specification