Patent ID: 11971353
Assignee: LACRISCIENCES, LLC
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 18:
19. A spatially multiplexed analyte sensing apparatus using surface plasmon resonance, said apparatus comprising:
a hand-holdable housing or hand-holdable casing;
a sensor attached to said hand-holdable housing or hand-holdable casing and having a sensing surface located in a plane on an outer side of said hand-holdable housing or hand-holdable casing at an end thereof, whereby said sensing surface is disposed for contacting a liquid tear sample in situ on a person's eye and configured to interact with each of a plurality of different types of solutes in the liquid tear sample;
a light-sensing device disposed inside said hand-holdable housing or hand-holdable casing;
a computer or microprocessor disposed inside said hand-holdable housing or hand-holdable casing and operatively linked to said light-sensing device for receiving therefrom a plurality of electrical signals encoding patterns of light absorption by said sensing surface, said computer or microprocessor being programmed to analyze data from said light-sensing device to determine presence of the different types of solutes in the liquid tear sample in contact with said sensing surface,
wherein said sensing surface comprises a plurality of sensing regions separate and distinct from one another and configured for detection of respective types of solutes in said liquid tear sample, one of said sensing regions being configured for detection of salt ions and at least one other of said sensing regions being provided with molecular elements or ligands configured to bind with a type of solute different from salt ions, said molecular elements or ligands being disposed on said sensing surface only within said at least one other of said sensing regions;
at least one light source disposed inside said hand-holdable housing or hand-holdable casing;
transmission elements disposed inside said hand-holdable housing or hand-holdable casing at least in part between said at least one light source and said sensing surface and configured for directing respective beams of electromagnetic radiation at least approximately simultaneously toward respective ones of said sensing regions and on an underside of said sensing surface, opposite the liquid tear sample, with reflected beams from the underside of said sensing surface impinging substantially simultaneously on said light sensing device,
wherein said computer or microprocessor is configured to detect presence of at least salt ions and said type of solute in said liquid tear sample effectively substantially simultaneously in response to the reflected beams from the underside of the sensing surface impinging on the light sensing device.