Patent ID: 6514461
Filing Date: 2003-02-04
Classification: B01L,G01N,G06K,G06Q,G16H,Y10T

Abstract:
A system for locally determining whether a fluid specimen tests â€œnegativeâ€  for specific chemical components, said system comprising:an assaying device comprising a cup for collecting said fluid specimen and a detachable cap for sealing said cup; said cap carrying a test strip; a pump mechanism carried by said cap actuatable without tilting said cup for extracting an aliquot of fluid specimen from said cup for wetting said test strip, said test strip being configured to respond to wetting by said aliquot for producing visual indications representing whether specific chemical components are present and/or absent in said specimen; a camera for generating a digital representation of an image incident thereon; a positioning device for placing said assaying device relative to said camera to enable said camera to generate a digital representation of said test strip including any visual indications indicating the presence and/or the absence of said specific chemical components in said specimen; a programmed digital processor for analyzing said digital representation of said test strip to detect said visual indications and determine whether said specific chemical components are absent from said specimen; and an output device responsive to said processor determining the absence of specific chemical components in said specimen for reporting a â€œnegativeâ€  test result.