Signal processing for measurement of physiological analytes

A monitoring system for continually or continuously measuring an analyte present in a biological system, said system comprising, in operative combination:

• (a) sampling means for continually or continuously extracting the analyte from the biological system, wherein said sampling means is adapted for extracting the analyte across a skin or mucosal surface of said biological system;
• (b) sensing means in operative contact with the analyte extracted by the sampling means, wherein said sensing means obtains a raw signal from the extracted analyte and said raw signal is specifically related to the analyte;
• and
• (c) microprocessor means in operative communication with the sensing means, wherein said microprocessor means (i) subjects the raw signal to a conversion step to convert said raw signal to an initial signal output which is indicative of the amount of analyte extracted by the sampling means, and (ii) performs a calibration step which correlates said initial signal output with a measurement value indicative of the concentration of analyte present in the biological system at the time of extraction.