Diagnostic Strip Auto-Calibration via Conductive Pattern
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing diagnostic test strips for measuring fluid constituents, such as glucose levels, face challenges in ensuring accurate and reliable calibration due to manual input errors and high manufacturing costs associated with bar-code readable information, leading to potential inaccuracies in concentration measurements.
Innovation Solution
A diagnostic test strip design featuring a conductive pattern with distinct electrical strip contacts and insulating material patterns that allow for automatic calibration, eliminating the need for manual input and reducing manufacturing costs by embedding unique codes directly on the strip for each lot, enabling accurate and reliable measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bar-code readable information is incorporated onto individual strips, then unique identification and calibration data can be provided for each strip, but manufacturing costs increase significantly and additional bar-code reader equipment is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the calibration data transmission function from complex bar-code systems and implements it through simple electrical contacts. The conductive pattern with selective connections provides the identification signal directly through the electrical circuit, eliminating the need for optical bar-code readers and reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining reliable calibration data transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the optical bar-code reading system with an electrical contact system. Instead of using optical fields and complex readers, the invention uses direct electrical connections through conductive patterns on the strip substrate, substituting a simpler electrical mechanism for the more complex optical-mechanical bar-code system.
2Ease of manufacture
If manual input of code data is required, then no additional manufacturing complexity is needed, but user errors increase leading to inaccurate measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The test strip automatically provides its own identification and calibration data through the conductive pattern system. When the strip is placed in the testing device, the electrical contacts automatically establish connections that transmit the unique identification signal without requiring any manual input from the user, thereby eliminating user errors while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration data and identification information are pre-encoded into the physical structure of the strip through the conductive pattern design. The data is prepared in advance during manufacturing and automatically transmitted when the strip is used, eliminating the need for manual data entry at the time of testing and preventing user errors.
3Measurement precision
If distinct lots of test strips are manufactured with different calibration data, then accurate measurements can be achieved for each lot, but the system complexity increases requiring lot-specific management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the test strip system into individually identifiable units, where each strip or lot has a unique conductive pattern configuration that encodes its calibration data. This segmentation allows each strip to carry its own identification information, enabling precise calibration without requiring complex external lot management systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive pattern system provides automatic feedback to the testing device about the specific lot or individual strip being used. The electrical contacts transmit this identification information back to the device, which then automatically selects the appropriate calibration parameters, eliminating the need for manual lot tracking and reducing system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a cost-effective, auto-calibration system that ensures accurate and reliable measurements by automatically accessing specific calibration parameters, reducing user error and allowing for mixed lot packaging, thereby improving the reliability and efficiency of fluid constituent monitoring.
Implementation Method 1
the reagents react with the glucose, and the meter applies a voltage to the electrodes to cause a redox reaction
Implementation Method 2
conductive traces electrically connecting the electrodes to the plurality of electrical strip contacts
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4A~4B
Figure 4C~4D
AI summary
An auto-calibration system for diagnostic test strips is described for presenting data individually carried on each test strip readable by a diagnostic meter. The carried data may include an embedded code relating to data particular to that individual strip. The data is presented so at to be read by a meter associated with the diagnostic test strip in order to avoid manually inputting the information.