Patent ID: 6773922
Filing Date: 2004-08-10
Classification: G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
A method for (a) determining concentration of at least one analyte of interest in a biological sample by means of a spectroscopic analysis and (b) measuring refractive index of said biological sample, said method comprising the steps of:(a) providing a beam of light for a spectroscopic measurement; (b) providing a beam of light for a refractive index measurement, said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement and said beam of light for said refractive index measurement beam not being co-linear; (c) providing a sample cell assembly for containing a biological sample to be used in determining concentration at least one analyte in said biological sample, said sample cell assembly comprising: (1) a port into which said biological sample can be introduced into the sample cell assembly; (2) said port of (a) communicating with an expansion zone; (3) said expansion zone communicating with a read zone; (4) said read zone communicating with a contraction zone; (5) said contraction zone communicating with a port from which said biological sample can be removed from said sample cell assembly; (6) a first pair of windows; and (7) a second pair of windows, said second pair of windows comprising a first window having two major surfaces and a second window having two major surfaces, said major surfaces of said first window not being parallel to said major surfaces of said second window. (d) introducing a biological sample into said sample cell assembly; (e) introducing said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement into said sample; (f) introducing said beam of light for said refractive index measurement into said sample; (g) detecting said beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement emerging from said sample; (h) detecting said beam of light for said refractive index measurement emerging from said sample; (i) determining concentration of said analyte from said detected beam of light for said spectroscopic measurement; (h) determining said refractive index of said sample from said detected beam of light for said refractive index measurement.