Patent ID: 8313951

Claim:
A system for determining an analyte concentration in a fluid sample, comprising: a test sensor comprising a fluid-receiving area for receiving a fluid sample, the fluid-receiving area containing a reagent that produces a reaction with an analyte in the sample, the test sensor having a test-sensor temperature, the test sensor including a thermochromic material applied to a region of the test sensor; a meter comprising: an opening configured to receive the test sensor such that the region of the thermochromic material on the test sensor is disposed in the meter and the fluid-receiving area of the test sensor is disposed outside the meter; a measurement system configured to determine a measurement of the reaction between the reagent and the analyte; and a temperature-measuring system configured to estimate a measurement of the test-sensor temperature when the test sensor is received into the opening, the temperature-measuring system including an optical-sensing system configured to detect an interaction between light and the thermochromic material to estimate the measurement of the test-sensor temperature, wherein the optical-sensing system detects the interaction between the light and the thermochromic material while the region of the thermochromic material on the test sensor is disposed in the meter and the fluid-receiving area of the test sensor is disposed outside the meter, and the meter determines a concentration of the analyte in the sample received on the fluid-receiving area of the test sensor using the measurement of the reaction and the measurement of the test-sensor temperature.