Patent ID: 8066866

Claim:
A method of electrochemically analyzing a physiological fluid sample to determine the concentration of an analyte present in the physiological fluid sample, the method comprising the steps of: providing a test device comprising a test fluid application portion having at least a pair of electrodes and a reagent; providing a predetermined potential across the at least a pair of electrodes for a continuous duration comprising at least a first time period and a second time period; detecting a current at the at least a pair of electrodes equal to or above a threshold value and subsequently monitoring the magnitude of the current over the first time period; and performing one of the following: 1) if the magnitude of the current remains above a predetermined value over the first time period, then using the magnitude of the current at the end of the second time period as a test reading indicative of the concentration of an analyte in a physiological fluid present in the test fluid application area of the test device wherein the first time period comprises an initial portion of the second time period; and 2) if the magnitude of the current is equal to or below the predetermined value anytime during the first time period waiting until the end of the first time period before repeating the step of detecting a current and the step of performing one of either 1) and 2).