Apparatus and method for determination of non-hemolyzed levels of occult blood in urine
First Claim
1. An apparatus for analyzing a urine sample disposed on a reagent pad to detect non-hemolyzed levels of occult blood in said urine sample, said apparatus comprising:
- means for successively illuminating a plurality of different portions of said reagent pad on which said urine sample is disposed;
means for detecting light received from said reagent pad, said detecting means generating a plurality of reflectance signals each having a magnitude, each of said reflectance signals being generated in response to light received from a corresponding one of said different portions of said reagent pad illuminated by said illuminating means;
means for determining a difference between said magnitude of one of said reflectance signals and said magnitude of another of said reflectance signals; and
means for comparing said difference with a predetermined threshold to detect the presence of non-hemolyzed blood in said urine sample.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for analyzing a body-fluid sample disposed on a reagent pad is provided with a light bulb for successively illuminating a plurality of different portions of the reagent pad on which the body-fluid sample is disposed and a detector array for detecting light received from the reagent pad and generating a plurality of reflectance signals in response to light received from a corresponding one of the different portions of the reagent pad. The apparatus is also provided with means for determining whether the magnitude of one of the reflectance signals is substantially different than the magnitude of another of the reflectance signals. Where the body-fluid sample is urine, this capability allows the apparatus to detect the presence of non-hemolyzed in the urine sample. The light bulb may successively illuminate a plurality of overlapping portions of the reagent pad, and may successively illuminate at least three different portions of the reagent pad which are linearly offset from each other.
44 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus for analyzing a urine sample disposed on a reagent pad to detect non-hemolyzed levels of occult blood in said urine sample, said apparatus comprising:
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means for successively illuminating a plurality of different portions of said reagent pad on which said urine sample is disposed; means for detecting light received from said reagent pad, said detecting means generating a plurality of reflectance signals each having a magnitude, each of said reflectance signals being generated in response to light received from a corresponding one of said different portions of said reagent pad illuminated by said illuminating means; means for determining a difference between said magnitude of one of said reflectance signals and said magnitude of another of said reflectance signals; and means for comparing said difference with a predetermined threshold to detect the presence of non-hemolyzed blood in said urine sample. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for analyzing a body-fluid sample disposed on a reagent pad, said apparatus comprising:
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means for successively illuminating a plurality of different portions of said reagent pad on which said body-fluid sample is disposed; means for detecting light received from said reagent pad, said detecting means generating a plurality of reflectance signals each having a magnitude, each of said reflectance signals being generated in response to light received from a corresponding one of said different portions of said reagent pad illuminated by said illuminating means; and means for determining whether said magnitude of one of said reflectance signals is substantially different than said magnitude of another of said reflectance signals. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of analyzing a urine sample disposed on a reagent pad, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) illuminating a first portion of said reagent pad; (b) detecting light received from said first portion of said reagent pad; (c) generating a first reflectance signal having a magnitude based on said light detected during said step (b); (d) illuminating a second portion of said reagent pad, said second portion being different from said first portion; (e) detecting light received from said second portion of said reagent pad; (f) generating a second reflectance signal having a magnitude based on said light detected during said step (e); and (g) determining whether said magnitude of said first reflectance signal is substantially different than said magnitude of said second reflectance signal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus for illuminating a body-fluid sample disposed on a reagent pad, said reagent pad having an overall area, said apparatus comprising:
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means for illuminating a first portion of said reagent pad on which said body-fluid sample is disposed, said first portion of said reagent pad having an area that is smaller than said overall area of said reagent pad; means for moving said reagent pad relative to said illuminating means so that said illuminating means illuminates a second portion of said reagent pad different from said first portion of said reagent pad, said second portion of said reagent pad having an area that is smaller than said overall area of said reagent pad; and means for detecting light received from said illuminated portions of said reagent pad. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification