Patent ID: 7906009

Claim:
A method for determining a concentration of an analyte in a sample from a patient, the method comprising: (a) piercing the patient with a sample acquisition element of an integrated device comprising a sample acquisition element and an electrochemical sensor to obtain a sample; (b) transporting no more than 500 nl of the sample into the electrochemical sensor, the sensor comprising: (i) a spacer layer; (ii) a first inert base having a first electrode thereon, the first base positioned against the spacer layer with the first electrode proximate the spacer layer; (iii) a second inert base having a second electrode thereon, the second base positioned against the spacer layer with the second electrode proximate the spacer layer, the first and second electrodes being a facing electrode pair; (iv) the spacer layer, first base and second base together defining a sample chamber having a volume of no more than about 500 nl; (v) a redox mediator and an enzyme present in the sample chamber; and (vi) a tapered tip into which the sample enters, wherein the sample acquisition element faces in the same direction as the tapered tip and is movable in a parallel manner relative to the sensor; (c) holding the sample in the sample chamber of the electrochemical sensor in a non-flow through manner; and (d) determining the concentration of analyte in the sample by electrochemistry.