KR101860141B1 - Method and apparatus of measuring glucose - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a blood glucose measurement method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a blood glucose measurement method and apparatus, wherein a control unit measures a first characteristic by applying an AC voltage to a sample introduced through a first electrode unit, And measuring the second characteristic by applying the result measured through the first electrode unit and the result measured through the second electrode unit to the predetermined equation to calculate the glucose concentration of the sample The method comprising the steps of:

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS OF MEASURING GLUCOSE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a blood glucose measurement method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a blood glucose measurement method and apparatus capable of measuring a glucose concentration of a sample such as blood.

Quantitative or qualitative analysis of analytes present in biological samples is clinically important. Measuring cholesterol, which is a factor of various adult diseases, and measuring blood sugar in blood for diabetic patients.

In particular, in the case of blood glucose measurement, a variety of measurement methods are being used not only in the blood glucose measurement performed in the hospital but also in the measurement of blood glucose, which enables the diabetic patients to measure their own blood glucose and periodically check them.

Among these various blood sugar measurement methods, electrochemical methods are widely used because they are one of the economical measuring methods while allowing an electrochemical method to be relatively accurate and quicker than other methods.

However, in the case of blood glucose measurement using an electrochemical method, fluctuations occur in the values measured according to the hematocrit ratio in the blood, and thus there is a problem that the reliability of the measurement is lowered.

On the other hand, the background art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0084439 (Jul.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a blood glucose measurement method and apparatus capable of accurately measuring the glucose concentration and shortening the measurement time.

The method of measuring blood glucose according to the present invention includes the steps of measuring a first characteristic by applying an AC voltage to a sample introduced into a control unit through a first electrode unit; Measuring a second characteristic by applying a DC voltage to the sample through the second electrode unit; And calculating the glucose concentration of the sample by applying the measurement result of the control unit to the first electrode unit and the measurement result of the second electrode unit to the predetermined equation.

In the present invention, the first characteristic is a magnitude of an impedance.

In the present invention, the second characteristic is a current.

In the measurement of the second characteristic of the present invention, the controller measures the response current according to the glucose oxidation-reduction reaction.

In the step of measuring the second characteristic of the present invention, the control unit may include a rest period in which no voltage is applied for a predetermined rest period, a first period in which a first reference voltage is applied during a first reference time, The second characteristic is measured through a second unit for applying two reference voltages and a third unit for applying a third reference voltage during a third reference time.

The independent variable of the above formula of the present invention is a first characteristic value and a second characteristic value at a plurality of time points, and the dependent variable is a glucose concentration.

The blood glucose measurement method according to the present invention may further comprise the step of measuring the inflow amount of the sample introduced through the second electrode unit by the control unit only when the inflow amount of the sample is equal to or greater than the reference value, And measuring the second characteristic.

In the present invention, the second electrode unit may include: a measuring electrode for measuring the second characteristic; A check electrode for measuring an inflow amount of the sample; And a reference electrode spaced apart from the check electrode, wherein the controller measures an inflow amount of the sample through a potential difference between the reference electrode and the check electrode.

A blood glucose measurement device according to the present invention includes: a first electrode unit for measuring a first characteristic by applying an AC voltage to an incoming sample; A second electrode unit for measuring a second characteristic by applying a DC voltage to the sample; And a controller for calculating a glucose concentration of the sample by applying a result measured through the first electrode unit and a result measured through the second electrode unit to a predetermined equation.

The method and apparatus for measuring blood glucose according to the present invention measure a first characteristic of a sample by applying an AC voltage through a first electrode unit, measure a second characteristic of the sample by applying a DC voltage through the second electrode unit, By calculating the glucose concentration of the sample by applying the measurement result through the electrode unit and the measurement result through the second electrode unit to the predetermined formula, it is possible to calculate the accurate glucose concentration without performing a separate calibration process, And the time required for calculating the concentration can also be shortened.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing a configuration of a blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DC voltage applied in the blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of measuring blood glucose according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a blood glucose measurement method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, the thicknesses of the lines and the sizes of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. In addition, the terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user, the operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The blood glucose measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to a DC voltage applied to the blood glucose measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a controller 100, a first electrode unit 200, and a second electrode unit 300.

The first electrode unit 200 can measure the first characteristic by applying an AC voltage to the introduced sample, and the second electrode unit 300 can measure the second characteristic by applying a DC voltage to the introduced sample. have. For example, the first characteristic may be the magnitude of the impedance and the second characteristic may be the current.

The operation of the first electrode unit 200 and the second electrode unit 300 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first electrode unit 200 and the second electrode unit 300 are formed on the substrate 10. In this embodiment, the substrate 10 includes an insulating material such as PET, PVC, or polycarbonate, and is formed to have a thickness of approximately 100 to 300 mu m, thereby ensuring insulation performance, rigidity, etc., And so on.

The first electrode unit 200 may include a pair of first electrodes 210 having one end 213a facing the first electrode 210. The first electrode 210 may include a first lead unit 211 and a first electrode 210, And may include an electrode member 213.

The first lead portion 211 is formed in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 10 so that the first electrode member 213 and the control portion 100 can be electrically connected to each other, And may extend in the width direction of the substrate 10. [0050]

In this embodiment, the pair of first electrode members 213 can be formed to be substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the sample in a state where the one ends 213a are opposed to each other. Therefore, (213).

The first electrode unit 200 configured as described above can measure the magnitude of the impedance of the introduced sample by applying an alternating voltage under the control of the controller 100. For example, the first electrode unit 200 can apply an alternating voltage having an amplitude of 0.01 [V], and alternately applies an AC voltage having a frequency of 10 [kHz] or a frequency of 1 [kHz] The magnitude of the impedance of the incoming sample exemplified by the blood sample can be measured.

The second electrode unit 300 is disposed on the downstream side of a flow path (not shown) through which the sample flows relative to the first electrode unit 200 and is spaced apart from the first electrode unit 200. The reference electrode 310, (330) and a check electrode (350).

The reference electrode 310 is located on the lower side of the flow path with respect to the first electrode 210 so as to be spaced apart from the first electrode 210. This is because the solidified reactant component on the second electrode unit 300 reacts with the sample To prevent the first electrode 210 from being transmitted.

The measurement electrode 330 may be located apart from the reference electrode 310 and may measure a second characteristic of the introduced sample by applying a DC voltage under the control of the control unit 100.

For example, the control unit 100 may include a rest period in which a voltage is not applied for a predetermined rest period, a first period in which a first reference voltage is applied during a first reference time, And a third group that applies the third reference voltage during the third reference time may be applied as a set.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the first reference voltage and the third reference voltage are the same value, the second reference time and the third reference time may be the same value, and the rest period for t ₁ second, 250 [mV] to (t ₂ -t ₁₎ is the first group, 450 [mV], which for seconds (t ₃ -t ₂₎ is the second group, and a 250 [mV], which during the second (t ₄ -t ₃ ) second, the second characteristic can be measured.

That is, the blood sample flowing into the measuring electrode 330 reacts with the reactant contacting the electrode according to the voltage as described above. Here, the reactant reacts with the enzyme and the enzyme reacting with the analyte in the sample Means a substance that reacts with a sample, including an electron transfer mediator, a buffer solution substance, an enzyme stabilizer, and the like.

In this case, the enzyme may be selected from the group consisting of various oxidoreductases such as glucose oxidase, lactate oxidase, cholesterol oxidase and alcohol oxidase, glucose dehydrogenase, glutamic oxaloacetic trnasmianse (GOT), and glutamic pyruvic trnasmianse Transferring enzymes and hydrolases can be used and the electron transfer mediators include potassium ferricyanide, potassium ferrocyanide, hexaamineruthenium chloride, ferrocene and < RTI ID = 0.0 > A derivative thereof, a quinine and a derivative thereof, which can be oxidized or reduced by reacting with an enzyme can be used. However, enzymes and electron transfer mediators are not limited thereto, and examples of various other substances are possible.

That is, the control unit 100 can measure the response current according to the glucose redox reaction of the blood sample by applying the DC voltage to the measurement electrode 330.

The check electrode 350 is spaced apart from the reference electrode 310. That is, the control unit 100 calculates the inflow amount of the sample flowing into the measurement electrode 330 located between the reference electrode 310 and the check electrode 350, using the potential difference between the reference electrode 310 and the check electrode 350, , Which can be used to confirm that the sample has flowed to a level suitable for the measurement.

In the present embodiment, the first lead 211, the first electrode 213, the reference electrode 310, the measuring electrode 330, and the check electrode 350 are formed by screen printing a carbon ink, A method of coating a metal thin film or the like on the substrate 10, or the like, and the material of the electrode is not particularly limited as long as it is a conductive material.

The control unit 100 may calculate the glucose concentration of the sample by applying a measurement result through the first electrode unit 200 and a measurement result through the second electrode unit 300 to a predetermined equation.

That is, the preset equation is a formula that has the glucose concentration as a dependent variable, and the independent variable is the magnitude and the response current of the above-mentioned impedance.

However, the magnitude of the impedance used as an independent variable and the response current do not simply mean a single value (for example, an average value of the response current) but the magnitude and the response current of the impedance at a plurality of time points.

In other words, as described above, in the present embodiment, since only one voltage value is applied to the DC voltage applied through the second electrode unit 300, the response current also varies depending on the applied voltage. Therefore, in this embodiment, by using the characteristic values (the first characteristic value and the second characteristic value) at a plurality of time points, accurate results can be obtained even if the glucose concentration is calculated through one step.

For example, when an AC voltage having an amplitude of 0.01 [V] and an AC voltage having a frequency of 10 [kHz] is applied and a DC voltage such as shown in Fig. 3 is applied, the magnitude of the impedance at the time of 0.4 second, The magnitude of the impedance at the time point, the response current at the time of 4 seconds, and the response current at the time of 5 seconds can be used as independent variables.

That is, if the glucose concentration is calculated in this manner, it is possible to improve the processing speed and accuracy because a separate step for correction (for example, calculating the hematocrit) is not required. In other words, in the calculation process for calculating the result, when the steps are performed through several steps, errors due to each step may accumulate and affect the result value. However, in this embodiment, only one step is used in the calculation process for calculating the result , So that the error rate can be lowered.

In addition, since the impedance phase is not used in this embodiment, the measurement process and the formula can be simplified, and the fluctuation of the test strip by each rat can be reduced.

However, the optimal form of such a formula may vary depending on the DC voltage, the AC voltage, the position and shape of each electrode, and the like applied in the blood glucose measurement apparatus according to the present embodiment. For example, Can be derived.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a blood glucose measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, a blood glucose measurement method according to the present embodiment will be described as follows.

As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 100 first measures an inflow amount of the blood sample through the second electrode unit 300 (S200), and compares it with a reference value (S210). That is, the second electrode unit 300 may include a reference electrode 310 and a check electrode 350 in addition to the measurement electrode 330, and the control unit 100 may include the reference electrode 310 and the check electrode 350 It is possible to measure the inflow amount of the sample flowing into the measurement electrode 330 located between the reference electrode 310 and the check electrode 350 by using the potential difference of the reference electrode 310 and the check electrode 350. As a result, Here, the reference value may be set in advance as a criterion of the sample inflow amount suitable for blood glucose measurement, and may be designed to various values according to the specifications of the blood glucose measurement apparatus and the like.

If it is determined in operation S210 that the inflow amount of the blood sample is equal to or greater than the reference value, the controller 100 measures the impedance of the blood sample through the first electrode unit 200 in operation S220. That is, the controller 100 can measure the magnitude of the impedance by applying the AC voltage to the sample introduced through the first electrode unit 200.

Also, the controller 200 measures the current according to the glucose oxidation reaction of the blood sample through the second electrode unit 300 (S230). That is, the blood sample flowing into the measurement electrode 330 of the second electrode unit 300 reacts with the reactant material in contact with the electrode according to the application of the DC voltage, and the control unit 100 controls the glucose oxidation / The response current according to the reaction can be measured.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the step S230 is performed after the step S220, but the step S230 may be performed at the same time as or after the step S220.

Then, the controller 100 calculates the glucose concentration of the blood sample by applying the magnitude and the current of the impedance measured in the steps S220 and S230 to the predetermined equation (S240). Here, the independent variable of the predetermined formula is the first characteristic value (magnitude of impedance) and the second characteristic value (response current value) at a plurality of time points, and the dependent variable is the glucose concentration. That is, the control unit 100 can improve the processing speed and accuracy by calculating the glucose concentration from the measured values using a single step.

As described above, in the method and apparatus for measuring blood glucose according to the embodiment of the present invention, the first characteristic of the sample is measured by applying the AC voltage through the first electrode unit, and the DC voltage is applied through the second electrode unit, And calculating the glucose concentration of the sample by applying the measurement result through the first electrode unit and the measurement result through the second electrode unit to the preset equation, thereby making it possible to calculate the accurate glucose concentration without a separate calibration process, So that the error rate due to the process can be reduced and the time required for calculating the concentration can be shortened.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. I will understand. Accordingly, the technical scope of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

10: substrate
100:
200: first electrode portion
210: first electrode
211: first lead portion
213: first electrode member
300: second electrode portion
310: reference electrode
330: measuring electrode
350: Check electrode

Claims (10)

Measuring a first characteristic by applying an AC voltage to a sample introduced into the control unit through the first electrode unit;
Measuring a second characteristic by applying a DC voltage to the sample through the second electrode unit; And
Calculating a glucose concentration of the sample by applying the measurement result of the control unit to the first electrode unit and the measurement result of the second electrode unit to the preset equation,
In the step of measuring the second characteristic, the control unit may include a rest period in which the voltage is not applied for a predetermined pause time, a first period in which a first reference voltage is applied during a first reference time, And the second characteristic is measured through a third unit that applies a third reference voltage during a third reference time.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first characteristic is a magnitude of an impedance.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the second characteristic is a current.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the control unit measures the response current according to the glucose oxidation-reduction reaction in the step of measuring the second characteristic.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the independent variable of the equation is a first characteristic value and a second characteristic value at a plurality of time points, and the dependent variable is a glucose concentration.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit further comprises measuring an inflow amount of the sample introduced through the second electrode unit,
Wherein the control unit performs the step of measuring the first characteristic and the step of measuring the second characteristic only when the inflow amount of the sample is equal to or greater than the reference value.
8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the second electrode unit comprises:
A measuring electrode for measuring the second characteristic;
A check electrode for measuring an inflow amount of the sample; And
And a reference electrode spaced apart from the check electrode,
Wherein the control unit measures an inflow amount of the sample through a potential difference between the reference electrode and the check electrode.
A first electrode unit for measuring a first characteristic by applying an alternating voltage to the introduced sample;
A second electrode unit for measuring a second characteristic by applying a DC voltage to the sample; And
And a controller for calculating a glucose concentration of the sample by applying a result measured through the first electrode unit and a result measured through the second electrode unit to a preset equation,
The control unit may include a rest period in which the voltage is not applied for a predetermined pause time, a first period in which a first reference voltage is applied during a first reference time, a second period in which a second reference voltage is applied during a second reference time, Wherein the second characteristic is measured through a third unit that applies a third reference voltage for a period of time.
10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the first characteristic is a magnitude of an impedance and the second characteristic is a response current according to a glucose redox reaction.

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