Small Volume In Vitro Analyte Sensor and Methods of Making

A method of determining a concentration of an analyte in blood, the method comprising steps of:

• stimulating a region of abdomen skin by manually rubbing the abdomen skin;
• after stimulating the region of the abdomen skin, lancing the abdomen skin to cause a flow of blood from the region;
• contacting a sensor strip to the blood and transporting the blood to a sample chamber in the sensor strip;
• and
• determining the concentration of the analyte.

A method of determining a concentration of glucose in blood, the method comprising steps of:

• stimulating a region of abdomen skin by manually rubbing the abdomen skin for at least one second;
• after stimulating the region of the abdomen skin, lancing the abdomen skin to cause a flow of blood from the region;
• contacting an electrochemical sensor strip to the blood and transporting no more than about 1 microliter of the blood to a sample chamber in the sensor strip, wherein the electrochemical sensor strip comprises:
• a working electrode and a counter electrode, wherein the working electrode and the counter electrode are separated by a closest distance no greater than 1000 μm, and
• glucose dehydrogenase and a diffusible redox mediator disposed proximate to the working electrode;
• and
• determining the concentration of the glucose using coulometry, amperometry, or potentiometry.