JPH0580215B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a blood testing device for a living body, and in particular to a device for testing the blood of a visually impaired patient. It concerns a device used by such patients themselves to determine the

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various types of apparatus are known, known as reflectance photometry, in which the reflectivity of a so-called target area of a sample piece is determined. This area of interest is particularly for the determination of certain properties, for example the concentration of medically important components of biological fluids such as blood or urine.
The components to be studied can be studied through the reactions that occur in the sample piece. The region of interest undergoes a change in reflectivity as a result of a reaction between components of the body's body fluids and reagent substances in the region of interest. This change in reflectivity is evaluated to determine the concentration of medically important components in the biological fluid. The use of sample strips and associated instruments to determine quantitative parameters of medical importance is known. High precision instruments are available to accomplish this quantitative determination. For example, Boehringer
Available from Mannheim Diagnostics
There is a REFLOCHECK™ blood glucose monitor.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> A particular problem addressed by the present invention is that many such instruments for quantitative determination of the concentration of medically significant components of biological body fluids are It is intended to be used by patients with An example is the case of diabetics who have lost their eyesight due to diabetes, who must monitor the glucose in their blood.

The use of these types of instruments by visually impaired patients is further complicated by the problems that such patients have in preparing samples of blood for reaction on sample strips and reading with such instruments. It becomes difficult. Often, visually impaired users place too little or too much blood on the sample strip, resulting in inaccurate instrument readings.

<Means for Solving the Problem> According to the present invention, blood extracted from a part of the human body by puncturing the skin for blood analysis is formed into droplets of substantially uniform and controlled size. An apparatus is provided for forming. The device includes a first surface through which blood from the human body flows under the action of gravity. This first side has an edge terminating at a lower end. The device is also provided with a second surface for capturing blood droplets. The second surface is disposed below the lower end, and the blood flows toward the lower end, forming droplets at the lower end, and forming droplets of approximately uniform size due to gravity and the surface tension of the blood. and falls onto the second surface and is captured.

In one embodiment of the invention, the edge of the first surface is a lower edge of the first surface, and the first surface further has an upper edge. The human body part is a finger, and blood is drawn from the finger and supplied to the first surface by puncturing the skin of the finger and then pressing the finger along the upper edge of the first surface. be done. The blood flows generally downward along the first surface to the lower end, where it forms droplets of approximately uniform size.

Also according to an embodiment, the second surface includes a reagent that reacts with a medically significant component of the blood, providing a visual indication on the second surface of the concentration of the component in the blood.

In the second invention according to the present application, the above-mentioned device includes:
A device is provided for indicating the concentration of certain components of the blood formed into droplets. The apparatus includes means for reacting with blood to generate a signal indicative of the concentration of the component, means for producing a first acoustic indication of the concentration, and means for reacting the first acoustic indication generating means with the blood. and means for connecting to. The first acoustic indicia generating means generates the first acoustic indicia in response to the signal.

Preferably, the means for generating a signal indicating the concentration by reacting with the blood includes a reagent whose reflectance changes depending on the concentration by reacting with the component, and a reflector for generating a signal indicating the concentration. It consists of a meter. In one embodiment, the means include:
A sample piece that holds a reagent and supports the reagent and blood during a reaction, a light source, a photodetector, and a blood droplet of an appropriate size attached to the surface of the sample piece that is transferred from the light source to the photodetector. means for supporting a light source and a photodetector vertically above the sample piece by a distance sufficient to block the light beam. The means for generating the second acoustic indication produces the second acoustic indication that a droplet of an appropriate size has been accumulated on the surface of the sample piece in response to the interruption of the light beam.

EXAMPLES The present invention may be best understood by reference to the following description and drawings that illustrate the invention.

The system of the present invention, best shown in FIG. 1, is housed within a case 10 that includes a base 12 and a hinged lid 14. As shown in FIG. The base 12 has a compartment for an alcohol disinfectant 16, a cotton ball 1
8. a plug-in power adapter 20; a device 22 for puncturing the user's skin; a plurality of heads 24 for use in conjunction with the puncturing device 22 to adjust the puncturing depth; the puncturing device 22 and the heads 24; A sterile lancet 26 for use in conjunction with the lancing action, a container 28 for the specimen holding reagents, a calendar 30, and a specimen reader 32 such as a REFLOCHECK™ blood glucose monitor. , and a cassette tape 34 containing instructions for use of the system. The blood transfer device fixture 36 is attached to the base 1 near the center of the front surface of the base 12 for easy handling by the user.
2.

2-4, the blood transfer device fixture 36 extends across the back of the mounting base 38 along a generally flat front wall surface 40 and two balanced side wall surfaces 44, 46. The mounting base 38 has a rear wall surface 42 that is located along the rear wall surface 42, and defines a forwardly opening portion 50. The base 38 is constructed from an easily wipeable material, such as synthetic ABC resin. base 38
is the mounting base 38 in front of the end of the front surface of the wall surface 42.
locating pins 52, 54 formed along opposite parallel sidewall surfaces 44, 46.

Blood transfer device fixture 36 also connects blood transfer base 5
Contains 6. A tapered opening 61 opens at the bottom of the base 56 of the blood transfer device for receiving the locating pins 52, 54, respectively, to position the base 56 with the base 38 of the fixture. Side wall surface 5
8,60 also include a fingertip grip recess 64 to facilitate removal of blood transfer device base 56 from fixture base 38 for cleaning. Blood transfer device base 5
The top surface of 6 has a generally upwardly concave portion 66 toward the front and a generally flat portion 68 toward the rear. part 68
In this case, the blood transfer device base 56 is connected to the positioning pin 52,
When placed on 54 and moved downwardly toward fixture base 38, it is located generally inside portion 50 formed by wall 42.

An upwardly concave groove 70 extends from the front of the blood transfer device base 56 to the rear. Region 66 of base 56 is provided with a narrow flat land portion 72 between each edge of groove 70 and an adjacent upwardly concave portion 66 of the base. Blood transfer device base 56 has a stop 74 formed on the rear side of the rear portion of groove 70 . The “funnel portion” 76 has a stainless steel pivot pin 78 press-fitted into a downwardly extending ear portion 80 formed on the side wall surface of the funnel portion 76 and a matching position provided on the side wall surface 58. The aperture is pivotally connected to a wall 58 that provides an upwardly facing concave portion 66 at the front of the blood transfer device base 56 .

The ear portion 82 on the opposite side wall of the funnel portion 76 is located at the portion 6
6 and extends further downward relative to the opposite side wall surface forming 6. This opposite wall surface 60 is provided with a partially spherical recess 84, shown in broken lines in FIGS. 2 and 3, which forms one component of the locking mechanism. Other elements of the locking mechanism include an elongated handle 8 formed as part of the ears 82 and funnel 76.
6 and a ball plunger mechanism including a ball 90 loaded with a spring 88. The ball plunger mechanism is housed within a generally accurate cylindrical opening extending axially in the handle 86. Ball 90 engages partially spherical recess 84 when funnel 76 is pivoted in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 to lock funnel 76 in the lower position. Funnel portion 76 includes ears 80, 82 which extend to approximately the same vertical height as land portions 72 on either side of groove 70 when funnel portion 76 is in the lower position and locked. A protrusion 92 extending downward is provided.

Funnel portion 76 has a downwardly facing surface 94 with a lower edge 96 that terminates directly above the transverse center of groove 70 . Surface 94 also includes an upper edge 100 formed by its intersection with an upwardly concave surface 102 of funnel portion 76 .

Blood transfer device 36 operates as follows. That is, the sample piece 104 holding the reagent is taken out from the container 28 and inserted in the longitudinal direction of the blood transfer device base 56 so as to be supported on the lands 72 on both sides of the groove 70 . Sample strip 104 is inserted into blood transfer device base 56 until it encounters stop 74 at its rear end. The funnel 76 is then pivoted downwardly until the ball 90 engages the recess 84 and secures the funnel 76 in the downward position. In this position, the protrusion 92 holds the sample piece 104 against the land 7.
2, and as a result, the sample piece 104
The position of is approximately fixed. Then, puncture tool 22
The skin of the user's finger is punctured using a head 24 and a lancet 26 in a known manner. The area of the finger around the opening in the skin then has an upwardly facing concave surface 102 conforming generally to the shape of the finger, as shown by arrow 105 in FIG. 3, to collect blood along the upper edge 100. Pressed or "squeezed" in a transverse direction. The blood expressed from the skin and collected along the upper edge 100 is
Flows down surface 94 and its lower edge 96 under the action of gravity to a substantially uniform size at the lower end 98 of surface 94 located directly above the reagent holding portion of sample strip 104 due to gravity and the surface tension of the blood. It becomes a droplet.
A droplet of blood of approximately uniform size falls from the lower end 98 by the land 72 and the stop pin 74 onto the reagent holding area of the sample strip 104 located directly below the lower end 98 .

Importantly, the user of the device need not be able to see any of the above operations. All such operations can be performed on a daily basis using only the sense of touch.
When the user stops the "squeezing operation" of the upper edge 100 across the finger, too large a droplet can be removed from the sample piece 104.
The monitor base 38 includes a light emitting element 106 and a photodetector 108 to provide an indication to the user when a suitable proportion of droplets have accumulated on the specimen 104 so as to prevent the droplets from forming on the specimen 104. It is provided. The light emitting element 106 is provided on the side wall surface 46, and the photodetector 108 is provided on the side wall surface 44.
The light emitting element 106 and the photodetector 108 are aligned in the axial direction, and a droplet of an appropriate size is placed on the light emitting element 106.
and photodetector 108 and vertically disposed along sidewall surfaces 44, 46 at a sufficient height to ensure blocking of light flow between the photodetectors 108 and 108, and together
4, 46 to reliably minimize interference from outside light. In this way, the droplet forms on the sample piece 104.
The droplet blocks the flow of light from the light emitting element 106 to the photodetector 108. As the droplet spreads, its vertical height decreases slightly until its surface tension balances the force of gravity acting to flatten the droplet. Accordingly, the flow of light between the light emitting element 106 and the photodetector 108 will be reinstated frequently after a uniformly sized droplet is deposited on the sample piece 104. To ensure that this condition does not affect the operation of the system of the present invention, photodetector 108 typically exhibits some hysteresis condition.

Sample strips 104 are typically dated because the numerous reagents provided by sample strips 104 change over time. This is because changes over time can affect the ability of the reagents in the sample piece to react with medically significant components of the body's blood. Calendar 30 in FIG. 1 is provided to recognize this fact. Calendar 30 includes magnetic backing numbers, four of which can be displayed on top surface 118 of base 12 at any given time.
A magnetic strip is provided on the surface 118 that cooperates with the back of this number. The leftmost number 1 in Figure 1
10 is the upper digit indicating the month in which the effect of the sample piece 104 expires. The number 112 is the next ranking digit for this month. The number 114 is the upper digit of the two-digit year display. The number 116 is the lower digit of the two-digit year display. These numbers are prominent so that they can be easily read by visually impaired users.

For general operation of the system and readings from blood glucose monitor 32, see Section 5.
The explanation will be made in connection with the electrical circuits shown in FIGS. a and 5b. Base 12 houses a light emitting device 106 and a photodetector 108, as described above. The illustrated light emitting device 106 is a light emitting diode (LED), and the photodetector 108 is typically an integrated circuit including a phototransistor, an amplifier, and a waveform shaping circuit.
Anode 132 of LED 106 is connected through resistor 134 to a positive VCC voltage source, shown as +5 volts. The cathode 136 of the LED 106 is
It is connected to a suitable common circuit terminal or ground. Power terminal 138 of photodetector 108 is also connected to this VCC source.
The common terminal of photodetector 108 is connected to ground. A capacitor 142 is connected across terminals 138 and 140. The output terminal 144 of the photodetector 108 is connected to conductor 1 which produces an output signal DROP DETEDT through a resistor 146.
48.

The base 12 is provided with an unregulated battery power supply 150 consisting of a pair of +9 volt batteries shown in parallel. The output terminal 152 of the battery 150 is +
Has 9 volts. Switch 154 controls the availability of +9 volts at terminal 152. If an external power source is available, the plug-in power adapter 20 of FIG. 1 may be used.
The adapter 20 is a plug-in jack 155
This is a +9 volt DC converter for 120 volts AC. The jack 155 is connected to a switch 15 as shown in phantom in FIG. 5a.
When plugged into 4, battery 15 is removed from the circuit.
Block 0.

The battery 150 also has terminals 156,1
Blood glucose monitor 32 via 58
Supplies power to Figure 5a also shows that if
Also shown is the terminal for the signal obtained from the sample reader 32 when the REFLOCHECK™ monitor is used. The signals obtained from these terminals are the signal POWER ON obtained on terminal 160 and the signal POWER ON obtained on terminal 162.
DATA, the signal CLOCK on terminal 164, and a common ground connection at terminal 166. When the REFLOCHECK™ monitor is in the "test" mode, the signal TEST is available on terminal 168 and the language signal LANG is available on terminal 170. Terminal 172 also provides a common ground. Conductor wires 176, 178
A small speaker 174 (FIG. 5b) having a 1000 MHz output is attached to the base 12 to communicate output from the system to the user.

A conductor 152 (FIG. 5a) couples the battery voltage through a resistor 180 to the collector of a transistor 182. The emitter of transistor 182 is grounded. The base of transistor 182 is connected to POWER ON terminal 160;
It is also grounded via a capacitor 184.
The signal from the collector of transistor 182 is routed through a series resistor 186 to a P-channel insulated gate field effect transistor (IGFET) regulation circuit 19.
Connected to the gate of 0. As shown, FET 190 may be an IFRD9123 type FET. The source and the other gate of FET 190 are connected to conductor 1
52. The drain of FET 190 is connected to ground through capacitor 192, producing a regulated voltage VA approximately equal to the battery voltage, eg, +9 volts. The drain of FET190 is
It is also connected to the input terminal, pin 1, of an integrated circuit voltage regulator 194, such as a LM7805CT type regulator. Pin 2, the ground terminal of regulating circuit 194, is connected to the circuit ground. The output terminal, pin 3, of regulation circuit 194 is connected to ground through capacitor 196, forming the regulated VCC terminal of the circuit.

TES terminal 168, DROP DETECT line 148, and LANG terminal 170 are connected to VCC through resistors 200, 202, and 204, respectively.
is connected to. DATA terminal 162 is
It is connected to the input terminal of the inverting amplifier 206. The output terminal of inverting amplifier 206 is connected to the inverting input terminal of amplifier 208. The input terminal of amplifier 206 is also connected to ground through resistor 210.
CLOCK terminal 164 is connected to inverting amplifier 212
is connected to the input terminal. Amplifier 21
The input terminal of 2 is also grounded via a resistor 214.

TEST terminal 168 is also a Motorola
Microcomputer 21 like MC68705U3L
6 input terminal A1, pin 34. Pin 10 of the C1 input terminal of microcomputer 216 is connected to the DROP of conductor 148.
Connected to DETECT. Pin 39 of A6 terminal of microcomputer 216 is
Connected to LANG terminal 170. Pin 9 of the CO terminal of microcomputer 216 is connected to the output terminal of amplifier 208. INT of microcomputer 216
Pin 3 of the terminal is connected to the output terminal of the inverting amplifier 212. Pins 35, 36, 37 and 40 of terminals A2, A3, A4 and A7 of microcomputer 216 are connected to VCC via resistor 218, respectively. Terminal of microcomputer 216
Pins 7 and 4 of VPP and VCC are also connected to VCC. Pins 1 and 8 of terminals VSS and TMR/BOOT of microcomputer 216 are connected to circuit ground, respectively. Pin 2 of terminal RST of microcomputer 216 is grounded via capacitor 220.
A 4.0 MHz crystal clock 222 is connected across pins 5 and 6 of terminals EXTAL and XTAL of microcomputer 216, respectively.
The capacitor 224 is connected to the microcomputer 216
is connected between pin 5 and ground.

Terminal A5 of microcomputer 216
Pin 38 of is connected to the input terminal of inverting amplifier 226. The input terminal of amplifier 226 is also connected to ground through resistor 228. The output terminal of amplifier 226 has its source and other gate connected to VCC and its drain connected to the gate electrode of a P-channel IGFET producing standby voltage VSBY. Terminals B7, B6, B5, B of microcomputer 216
4, B3, B2, B1, B0, A0, C2 and C
3 pins 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27,
26, 25, 33, 11 and 12 are terminals A8 and A of the voice control integrated circuit 230, respectively.
7, A6, A5, A4, A3, A2, A1,
ALD, LRQ and SBY pins 10, 11, 13,
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 9 and 8
connected to. For example, audio control integrated circuit 230 is a model SPO256-AL2 integrated audio control microprocessor available from General Instruments. Terminal VSS of circuit 230
is grounded. Terminal SE of circuit 230,
Pins 19, 22, and 23 of TEST and VD1 are connected to VCC, respectively. Pin 7 of terminal VDD of circuit 230 is connected to VSBY (see Figure 5a).

Terminals SER OUT, SER of circuit 230
IN, C1, C2, C3 and ROM DISABLE pins 12, 21, 4, 5, 6 and 3 respectively
SER IN, available from General Instruments
SER OUT, C1, C2, C3 and ROM ENA
is connected to pins 25, 9, 15, 14, 13 and 8 of. Terminal of circuit 232
Pins 26 and 6 of VDD and CS1 are
Connected to VSBY. Pins 1 and 7 of terminals VSS and CS2 of circuit 232, respectively, are grounded. Terminal of circuit 232
Pin 27 of ROM CLK is the voice control device 230
is connected to pin 26 of the terminal ROM CLK.

The capacity of the audio ROM is available from Seeq.
It is provided by an audio ROM 234, such as a Type 27128 audio ROM. Series-to-parallel converter 232 and audio
The connection with the ROM 234 is as follows.
That is, pins 35-28 of terminals D0-D7 of circuit 232 correspond to pins 11, 12, 13, 1 of terminals 00-07 of audio ROM 234, respectively.
5, 16, 17, 18 and 19. Pins 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 1 of terminals A0 to A13 of circuit 232
7, 16, 12, 11, 5, 3 and 40 are pins 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 25 of terminals A0 to A13 of the audio ROM 234, respectively.
24, 21, 23, 2 and 26. Terminal VPP of audio ROM 234,
VCC and PGM pins 1, 28, and 27 are respectively
Connected to VSBY. Audio ROM23
4 terminals CE, OE and GND pin 20,
22 and 14 are each connected to the ground of the circuit.

A 3.12 MHz crystal clock 236 is connected to pin 2 of terminals OSC1 and OSC2 of the voice control unit 230.
7 and 28, respectively. These terminals are also grounded via capacitor 238. A parallel circuit including a resistor 240 and a diode 242 is connected to the terminal of the audio control device 230.
Connected between VSBY and RST (pin 2). The cathode of diode 242 is connected to terminal VSBY, and its anode is grounded via capacitor 244. Parallel resistor 246 and diode 2
A similar circuit including 48 is connected between terminals VCC and SBY RST (pin 25) of voice control device 230. The cathode of diode 248 is VCC
and its anode is grounded via a capacitor 250.

The audio frequency analog output of audio control circuit 230 appears at pin 24 of its terminal DAC OUT. This signal is connected to resistor 252 and resistor 2 in series.
54, a capacitor 256, and a resistor 258 through a multi-stage T-C filter to pin 3 of the +input terminal of an amplifier 260, such as the LM386-4. The junction of resistors 252 and 254 is grounded via capacitor 262. The junction of resistor 254 and capacitor 256 is grounded via capacitor 264. capacitor 25
6 and resistor 258 is grounded via resistor 266. Pin 3 of amplifier 260 is connected to resistor 26
8 to ground. Pin 2 of one input terminal of amplifier 260 is grounded. Pins 12 and 8 of circuit 216 (FIG. 5a) and circuit 230 (FIG. 5b) are connected to the input terminal of inverting amplifier 270. The output terminal of amplifier 270 is connected to the inverting input terminal of amplifier 272.
The output terminal of amplifier 272 is connected to the base of attenuation transistor 276 via resistor 274 and to ground via capacitor 278.
The emitter of transistor 276 is grounded. Its collector is connected to pin 1 of amplifier 260,
It is also connected to pin 8 of the amplifier 260 via a capacitor 280. Pin 6 of amplifier 260 is connected to terminal VA. Pin 7 of amplifier 260 is grounded through capacitor 282, and pin 4 of amplifier 260 is grounded.

Pin 5 of the output terminal of amplifier 260 carries an amplified audio signal, such as the glucose component, which is read by blood glucose monitor 32 and sent via terminal DATA 162 to the circuitry of FIGS. 5a and 5b. The audio control circuit also generates an audible signal when a substantially uniformly sized droplet has been deposited on the specimen strip 104 so that the user can stop the supply of blood to the specimen strip. The voice control circuit then times the interval between the formation of the blood droplet on the sample strip 104 and the end of the reaction period, and the voice control circuit prompts the user to wipe the blood droplet from the sample strip. A sample reader 32 transfers a sample piece to read the level of glucose in the blood.
It tells you when to insert it inside.

Various clocks and other undesirable frequencies generated within the audio controller and related circuitry are removed by a multi-stage R-C filter at pin 3 of the input terminal of amplifier 260. Audio frequency output is provided to speaker lines 176, 178 via DC blocking capacitor 284. Pin 5 of the output terminal of amplifier 260 is also connected to ground via series RC circuits 286 and 288.

This circuit has 29 language jump terminal pairs.
0,292 is provided. terminal 290
is grounded. Terminal 292 is connected to terminal LANG 170. By providing circuits at both ends of terminals 290 and 292, pin 39 of terminal A6 of microcomputer 216 is grounded. If the microcomputer 216 and voice controller 230 are programmed to produce voices in multiple languages, such as English or German, it provides an easy method for conversion from one language to another. It is something.

Appendix A is a list of sources on microcomputer 216.

Appendix B is the purpose code in the audio ROM 234.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire system including the device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of main parts, and FIG.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3--3 in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Figure 3; Figures 5a and 5b show the system shown in Figure 1. FIG. 2 is a partially block partial schematic circuit diagram showing an example of an electric circuit of each part of the FIG. 10...Case, 12...Base, 16...Alcohol disinfectant, 18...Cotton ball, 20...Plug
In-type power adapter, 22...Puncture device, 24...
Head, 26... Lancet, 28... Container, 3
0... Calendar, 32... Sample reading device, 34...
...Cassette tape, 36...Fixing tool, 38...
Base, 40...Front wall surface, 42...Rear wall surface, 44...
... side wall surface, 46 ... side wall surface, 52, 54 ... positioning pin, 56 ... base, 58, 60 ... side wall surface, 61 ... opening, 64, 66 ... recess, 68 ...
...Flat portion, 70...Groove, 72...Land portion, 7
4... Stop part, 76... Funnel part, 78... Pivot pin, 80, 82... Ear part, 84... Recessed part, 86...
...Handle, 88...Spring, 90...Ball, 9
2... Protrusion, 94... Surface, 96... Lower edge,
98...lower end, 100...upper edge, 102...
...Upward concave surface, 104... Sample piece, 106...
Light emitting element, 108... Photodetector, 132... Anode, 134... Resistor, 136... Cathode, 138...
...Power terminal, 142...Capacitor, 14
6...Resistor, 150...Battery, 154...Switch, 155...Plug-in jack, 1
74...Speaker, 180...Resistor, 182...
Transistor, 184...Capacitor, 186...
...Series resistance, 190...FET, 192...Capacitor, 194...Adjustment circuit, 196...Capacitor, 200, 202, 204...Resistance, 20
6,208...Amplifier, 210...Resistor, 212
...Inverting amplifier, 214...Resistor, 216...Microcomputer, 218...Resistor, 220...
...Capacitor, 222...Crystal clock, 224
... Capacitor, 226 ... Inverting amplifier, 228
... Resistor, 230 ... Voice control integrated circuit, 23
2...Series-parallel converter integrated circuit, 234...Audio ROM, 236...Crystal clock, 238...
Capacitor, 240... Resistor, 242... Diode, 244... Capacitor, 246... Parallel resistance, 248... Diode, 250... Capacitor, 252, 254, 258, 266, 268,
274...Resistance, 256, 262, 264, 27
8,280,282,284...Capacitor, 2
60,270,272...Amplifier, 276...Transistor, 286,288...Series RC circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A device for forming blood removed from a part of the human body by puncturing the skin into substantially uniform, controlled size droplets for blood analysis; The device has a first surface 94 through which blood from the human body flows under the action of gravity, and a second surface 104 for trapping droplets of blood, the first surface includes an edge 96 terminating at a lower end 98, the second surface being disposed below the lower end such that blood flows toward the lower end and forms a droplet at the lower end;
A device characterized in that, due to gravity and the surface tension of the blood, droplets of approximately uniform size fall onto the second surface and are captured. 2 the edge 96 is a lower edge of the first surface 94, the first surface further includes an upper edge 100, the part of the human body is a finger, and the skin of the finger is punctured; blood is drawn from the finger and applied to the first surface by pressing the finger along the upper edge of the first surface, the blood being applied to the lower end 98.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the droplet flows substantially downwardly along said first surface until it reaches said lower end, forming a substantially uniformly sized droplet. 3. The second surface 104 includes a reagent that reacts with a medically significant component of blood and provides a visual indication on the second surface of the concentration of the component in the blood. The device according to item 1 or 2. 4. The means for providing the second surface 104 includes a reagent-bearing sample strip containing a reagent for reacting with a medically significant component of the blood to provide a visual indication of the concentration of the component in the blood. 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that it includes means for providing a holding holder (70, 72, 92). 5 further includes a third surface 102 having an upwardly concave curved profile to approximately correspond to the cross-sectional shape of a finger, and the upper edge 100 is connected to the first surface 94.
The device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that it is formed by the intersection of the third surface and the third surface. 6 said lower edge 96 and upper edge 100 and a first surface 94 and a third surface 102 are provided on the movable part 76 of the blood transfer mechanism, said means for providing said second surface 104 being provided on said blood transfer mechanism; Stationary part of the mechanism 5
6, and means 78, 80 are provided for pivotally mounting the movable part of the blood transfer mechanism to the stationary part, the movable part being in an examination position and a specimen removal/exchange position with respect to the stationary part. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising means (92) on the movable part for engaging the specimen when the movable part is in the test position. 7 Forming blood removed from a part of the human body by puncturing the skin to analyze the blood into droplets of substantially uniform controlled size and determining the concentration of certain components of the blood droplets. A device for displaying an image, the device comprising: a first surface 94 through which blood from a human body flows under the action of gravity; a second surface 104 for capturing droplets of blood; means for reacting with the blood to generate a signal indicative of the concentration of the component; means for producing a first acoustic indication of the concentration; and connecting the first acoustic indication generating means to the means for reacting with the blood. and a first surface having a lower end 9
8, the second surface is disposed below the lower end so that blood flows toward the lower end, forms droplets at the lower end, and is substantially uniform due to gravity and the surface tension of the blood. A droplet of a certain size falls onto the second surface and is captured, and the first
wherein the audible indicia generating means generates a first audible indicia in response to the signal. 8. The means for generating a signal indicating the concentration by reacting with the blood includes a reagent whose reflectance changes according to the concentration by reacting with the component, and a reflectometer for generating a signal indicating the concentration. 8. A device according to claim 7, characterized in that it consists of: 9 means for generating a second acoustic display indicating the start of the reaction; and means for generating a third acoustic display indicating the passage of a preset time after the start of the reaction;
means for connecting said means for generating said second acoustic indication to said means for reacting with said component; and said means for generating said third acoustic indication connected to said means for generating said second acoustic indication; 9. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising means for: 10. Any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that a blood transfer mechanism is provided for transferring blood from a body part of a patient under test into a reaction state with a reagent supported by a sample piece. The device described in Crab. 11 A sample piece 10 in which the means for causing a reaction with the component holds a reagent and supports the reagent and blood during the reaction.
4, a light source 106, a photodetector 108, and a distance sufficient for a suitably sized blood droplet deposited on the surface of the specimen to block the light beam from the light source to the photodetector; 11. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising means for supporting the light source and the photodetector vertically above the sample piece. 12. The means for generating the second acoustic display,
Claim 11, characterized in that, in response to the interruption of the light beam, the second acoustic indication that a droplet of an appropriate size has accumulated on the surface of the sample piece 104 is provided. equipment. 13. Claim 9, wherein the means for generating the third acoustic display comprises means for timing an interval after the second acoustic display to produce the third acoustic display. 13. The device according to any one of items 12 to 12. 14. Claim 7, characterized in that the means for generating a first acoustic indication of the concentration of said component comprises a sound generating device for indicating said concentration.
The apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 13.