Patent ID: 7993283

Claim:
An apparatus for conducting a non-invasive analysis of saliva to determine the presence and the level of a certain constituent carried by the saliva, the apparatus comprising: a flat card-like device having a flat configuration resembling a relatively thin card, the device including a base; a visible gauge on the base, the visible gauge including an interpretation site and visible regions of different colors displayed upon the base adjacent the interpretation site; a lolli-pop-like structure including a stem integrated with the base and a head integrated with the stem, the stem including a finger-grip, and the head including a receptor for the reception of a saliva sample; the receptor being constructed of a material having a saliva-absorbing texture; the stem being selectively pivoted by a user out of the flat configuration for placement at a first position wherein the head is spaced away from the base for placement of the head in juxtaposition with the user's mouth to facilitate reception of the saliva sample in the receptor, and wherein the stem extends away from the base to expose the finger-grip for gripping by the user, and is pivoted subsequently to a second position wherein the stem is retracted toward the base and the head is inserted into the flat configuration to place the receptor of the head at the interpretation site, confined in juxtaposition with the visible gauge; and a reagent carried by one of the head at the receptor and the base at the interpretation site, the reagent being capable of changing color in response to exposure to the certain constituent, such that upon placement of the stem in the first position, the finger-grip is available for gripping by the user, with the receptor exposed for receiving the saliva sample, and upon subsequent placement of the stem in the second position, the receptor is juxtaposed with the interpretation site, confined within the base, so that any change in color of the reagent in response to exposure of the reagent to the saliva sample will be visibly registered in side-by-side contiguity with the regions of different colors of the visible gauge for enabling a direct visual comparison of the change in color of the reagent with a corresponding color of a visible region of the visible gauge, thereby providing a directly readable indication of the presence and the level of the certain constituent in the saliva sample.