Patent ID: 8714017

Claim:
Apparatus for determining the sound velocity of blood in a specimen as a measure of the glucose value of the blood, said specimen having two walls between which the blood is contained and with one of the specimen walls being deformable, comprising: a housing having a slot therein formed by first and second walls into which the specimen is placed, said housing being without any portion extending through the specimen; a sensor including a transducer for transmitting ultrasonic energy signals between the two walls of the specimen; deforming apparatus of said housing for deforming said one wall of the specimen by a known distance from a first position spaced from said transducer to a second position closer to said transducer; and an electronic circuit including a microprocessor for measuring a respective first and second transit time of said ultrasonic energy signals through the blood between the two walls of the specimen for each of said first and second positions of the deformable specimen wall, and for calculating the sound velocity of the blood based upon said known distance and the said measured first and second transit times, and determining the glucose value of the blood.