Lateral flow assay systems and methods
First Claim
1. A diagnostic test system, comprising:
- a housing comprising a port for receiving a test strip that supports lateral flow of a fluid sample along a lateral flow direction and comprises a labeling zone containing a labeling substance that binds a label to a target analyte and a detection zone comprising at least one test region containing an immobilized substance that binds the target analyte, wherein the detection zone includes an area that is exposed for optical inspection and is characterized by a first dimension transverse to the lateral flow direction and a second dimension parallel to the lateral flow direction;
a reader configured to obtain separable light intensity measurements from localized regions of the exposed area of the detection zone when the test strip is loaded in the port, wherein each of the localized regions is characterized by at least one surface dimension smaller than the first dimension; and
a data analyzer operable to identify ones of the light intensity measurements obtained from the at least one test region and to compute at least one parameter from the identified ones of the light intensity measurements.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one aspect, a diagnostic test system includes a housing, a reader, and a data analyzer. The housing includes a port for receiving a test strip. The reader obtains separable light intensity measurements from localized regions of an area of the detection zone exposed for optical inspection, wherein each of the localized regions is characterized by at least one surface dimension smaller than the first dimension. The data analyzer identifies ones of the light intensity measurements obtained from the at least one test region and computes at least one parameter from the identified ones of the light intensity measurements. In another aspect, the reader obtains a respective set of light intensity measurements from each of multiple corresponding regions of the exposed surface area of the detection zone, and the data analyzer computes at least one parameter from at least one of the sets of light intensity measurements.
72 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A diagnostic test system, comprising:
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a housing comprising a port for receiving a test strip that supports lateral flow of a fluid sample along a lateral flow direction and comprises a labeling zone containing a labeling substance that binds a label to a target analyte and a detection zone comprising at least one test region containing an immobilized substance that binds the target analyte, wherein the detection zone includes an area that is exposed for optical inspection and is characterized by a first dimension transverse to the lateral flow direction and a second dimension parallel to the lateral flow direction;
a reader configured to obtain separable light intensity measurements from localized regions of the exposed area of the detection zone when the test strip is loaded in the port, wherein each of the localized regions is characterized by at least one surface dimension smaller than the first dimension; and
a data analyzer operable to identify ones of the light intensity measurements obtained from the at least one test region and to compute at least one parameter from the identified ones of the light intensity measurements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A diagnostic test system, comprising:
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a housing comprising a port for receiving a test strip that supports lateral flow of a fluid sample along a lateral flow direction and comprises a labeling zone containing a labeling substance that binds a label to a target analyte and a detection zone comprising at least one test region containing an immobilized substance that binds the target analyte and an area that is exposed for optical inspection;
a reader configured to obtain a respective set of light intensity measurements from each of multiple corresponding regions of the exposed surface area of the detection zone when the test strip is loaded in the port; and
a data analyzer operable to compute at least one parameter from at least one of the sets of light intensity measurements. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A diagnostic test method, comprising:
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receiving a test strip that supports lateral flow of a fluid sample along a lateral flow direction and comprises a labeling zone containing a labeling substance that binds a label to a target analyte and a detection zone comprising at least one test region containing an immobilized substance that binds the target analyte, wherein the detection zone includes an area that is exposed for optical inspection and is characterized by a first dimension transverse to the lateral flow direction and a second dimension parallel to the lateral flow direction;
obtaining separable light intensity measurements from localized regions of the exposed area of the detection zone, wherein each of the localized regions is characterized by at least one surface dimension smaller than the first dimension;
identifying ones of the light intensity measurements obtained from the at least one test region; and
computing at least one parameter from the identified ones of the light intensity measurements.
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30. A diagnostic test method, comprising:
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receiving a test strip that supports lateral flow of a fluid sample along a lateral flow direction and comprises a labeling zone containing a labeling substance that binds a label to a target analyte and a detection zone comprising at least one test region containing an immobilized substance that binds the target analyte and an area that is exposed for optical inspection;
obtaining a respective set of light intensity measurements from each of multiple corresponding regions of the exposed surface area of the detection zone when the test strip is loaded in the port; and
computing at least one parameter from at least one of the sets of light intensity measurements.
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Specification