Patent · US Expired

System and method for optical sensing utilizing a portable, detachable sensor cartridge

US6326612A · kind A · utility

41Cited by
7References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 12, 1999
Grant dateDec 4, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 12, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N21/553
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Disclosed is a sensing system and method utilizing a sensor cartridge (10) for making analytical measurements regarding one or more samples (50) of interest, the cartridge (10) comprising an opaque housing (12) having an opening (32), the opening (32) allowing access to one or more electrically conductive contacts (34) and one or more fluidic connectors (36) disposed within the housing (12) and mechanically aligned to the electrically conductive contacts (34), a flow cell (56) having one or more channels connected to the one or more fluidic connectors (36), and a fixed optic sensor (68, 58, 72, 74) disposed within said housing (12) and aligned to a sensing surface on the flow cell. The fixed optic sensor may be, for example, a surface plasmon resonance sensor, a critical angle sensor, or a fluorescence-based sensor. In one embodiment of the present invention, the one or more electrically conductive contacts (32) comprise card-edge contacts (34). In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the one or more electrically conductive contacts comprise conductive pins (124) intended to be inserted into a socket (128) of a reporter unit (130). Because the optic sensor is pre-ali…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.