Patent ID: 7553280

Claim:
Apparatus for retrieving information from a sensor device, comprising: an internal sensor unit for taking quantitative analyte measurements, including a first coil forming part of a power supply for said sensor unit, a load coupled to said first coil; and a sensor circuit for modifying said load in accordance with sensor measurement information obtained by said sensor circuit, said sensor circuit including a signal channel detector responsive to analyte measurement information, and a reference channel detector responsive to reference measurement information, outputs of said signal channel detector and said reference channel detector being combined in said sensor information for modifying said load, wherein said signal channel detector is configured to produce an output determinative of a positive transition time of said load modification, and said reference channel detector is configured to produce an output determinative of negative transition time of said modification; an external unit including a second coil which is mutually inductively coupled to said first coil upon said second coil being placed within a predetermined proximal distance from said first coil, an oscillator for driving said second coil to induce a charging current in said first coil, and a detector for detecting variations in a load on said second coil induced by changes to said load in said internal sensor unit and for providing information signals corresponding to said load changes; and a processor for receiving and processing said information signals.