Patent ID: 8602640

Claim:
A system comprising: a sensing medium comprising at least two surfaces, a sensing surface capable of being in direct contact with a sample and a back surface substantially isolated from the sample; at least one sensor arranged to collect temperature information for use in determining a temperature of the sensing surface; at least one thermal module arranged to alter the temperature of the sensing surface; at least one light source configured to emit light through the sensing medium to the sensing surface such that at least a portion of the light reflects from the sensing surface onto at least one light detector when the sensing surface is not in direct contact with the sample; the at least one light detector having a light detector output, the light detector output comprising a light detector signal indicative of a measure of light detected by the light detector; a processing unit having as an input the light detector signal and the temperature information and having a processing unit output, the processing unit output comprising output information from which at least one physical characteristic of the sample can be determined; wherein the light source and the light detector are separated from the sample by the sensing medium; and a heat sink arranged to at least partially remove heat from the at least one thermal module, wherein the heat sink includes a central part, wherein the sensing medium, the at least one sensor, the at least one thermal module and the at least one light source are located within the central part.