Patent ID: 8133741

Claim:
A method for simultaneously measuring a plurality of biological or chemical analytes in a fluid, said method comprising the steps of: providing a substrate comprising a plurality of sensor elements, each said sensor element responding to at least one of said plurality of analytes; providing at least one light source for directing light onto said sensor elements; providing a delivery device having a plurality of reservoirs in communication with said sensor elements, said delivery device comprising a single sample entry port in fluid communication with a plurality of fluidic channels, said channels directly connecting said sample entry port to said reservoirs, wherein the delivery device meters and delivers a controlled volume of said fluid between the sample entry port and the reservoirs, and said delivery device further comprising a cover layer having a plurality of vent holes having hydrophobic walls disposed above said reservoirs, said cover layer further having a hydrophilic bottom surface for providing a hydrophilic roof portion above said reservoirs to facilitate transport of said fluid to said reservoirs; delivering a sample fluid to the single sample entry port of the delivery device; drawing sample fluid through said fluidic channels with the hydrophilic bottom surface to fill said reservoirs with sample fluid; venting air from the delivery device through the vent holes; impeding sample fluid from flowing though the vent holes and escaping the reservoirs with the hydrophobic walls of the vent holes to thereby deliver a metered quantity of said sample fluid to each of said sensor elements with said delivery device; detecting a response from said sensor elements; recording said response into a digital record; processing said digital record; and utilizing said digital record to determine a concentration of each said analyte in said fluid.