Patent ID: 6964752

Claim:
An apparatus for use with an assaying device presenting a lower periphery and including a test strip for providing a visual indication of at least one property of a fluid specimen, said apparatus comprising: an apparatus housing including a base portion and a head portion, said base portion having a keyed recess formed therein for receiving and holding the device in a fixed position relative to said head portion, said keyed recess being complementary to the lower periphery of the assaying device to place the device in a specific orientation relative to said head portion; a camera coupled to said head portion and operable to acquire an image of said test strip; a processor operable to control said camera to periodically capture sequential images of said test strip, generate a digital representation of each captured image, and to process said digital representations to detect markings on said image indicative of each of said chemical components in said fluid specimen; and output means for reporting the detection of said markings.