Patent ID: 8532731

Claim:
A method of determining a concentration of an analyte in blood, the method comprising steps of: stimulating a region of skin other than a fingertip by manually rubbing the exterior surface of the region for a duration of at least 1 second; after stimulating the region of skin, creating an opening in the region of skin to cause a flow of blood from the region of skin; coupling a electrochemical sensor strip to a meter, wherein the sensor strip comprises: a sample chamber for holding blood, the sample chamber comprising a working electrode, wherein the sample chamber is sized to contain a volume of no more than about 1 μL of blood; a first electrode and a second electrode disposed in the sample chamber and flanking the working electrode, wherein the first electrode indicates when the sample chamber is beginning to fill with sample, and the second electrode indicates when the sample chamber is substantially filled with sample; and an analyte-responsive enzyme and a redox mediator disposed in the sample chamber; contacting the sensor strip to the blood; transporting no more than 1 microliter of the blood to the sample chamber via an un-pressurized mode of transport; determining when the sample chamber is beginning to fill with sample; determining when the sample chamber is substantially filled with sample; and electrochemically determining the concentration of the analyte in the blood using the electrochemical sensor strip and meter.