Portable in-vitro diagnostic detector and apparatus

A portable in-vitro (PIV) diagnostic detector operable to perform a fluorescence lateral flow assay on a sample located on a test strip in one or more detection chambers of a cartridge, the PIV diagnostic detector comprising:

• an enclosure defining a slot, the slot shaped to receive the cartridge holding the test strip;
• a first optical module comprising:
• a first LED light source for emitting substantially monochromatic light to illuminate an area of the slot corresponding to a first detection zone associated with at least one detection chamber of the one or more detection chambers of the cartridge when the cartridge is received within the slot;
• a first excitation filter interposed between said first light source and said first detection zone;
• a first light detector operable to detect fluorescent light emitted from said first detection zone by an excited fluorescent label associated with the sample and to measure an intensity of the fluoresced light while the cartridge is positioned within the slot;
• and
• a first emission filter interposed between said first light detector and said first detection zone;
• a second optical module comprising:
• a second LED light source for emitting substantially monochromatic light to illuminate an area of the slot corresponding to a second detection zone associated with at least one detection chamber of the one or more detection chambers of the cartridge while the cartridge is positioned within the slot;
• a second excitation filter interposed between said second light source and said second detection zone;
• a second light detector operable to detect fluorescent light emitted from said second detection zone by an excited fluorescent label associated with the sample and to measure an intensity of the fluoresced light while the cartridge is positioned within the slot;
• and
• a second emission filter interposed between said second light detector and said second detection zone;
• and
• a microprocessor operable to process the measured intensity of the fluoresced light received by each of the first light detector and the second light detector to determine whether an analyte is present in the sample;
• wherein the first optical module and the second optical module are arranged in a row either parallel or orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge;
• wherein the PIV diagnostic detector is adapted to be removably mountable to the cartridge by way of receiving the cartridge in the slot, enabling re-use of the PIV diagnostic detector with subsequent cartridges;
• wherein each optical module is configured to cause each respective LED light source to emit light at an acute angle with respect to the fluorescent light emitted from each respective detection zone by the excited fluorescent label and detected by each respective light detector;
• and
• wherein the slot, the test strip held in the cartridge positioned within the slot, and each optical module are located in a fixed position with respect to each other while the test strip is being analyzed.