Method and Apparatus for Measuring Blood Coagulation

A disposable cartridge adapted to be inserted into and used with a matching reader device, the cartridge comprising walls defining or containing there within a capillary tube having a sample application port at the proximal end, and a reaction chamber at the distal end, wherein the reaction chamber is adapted to hold a sample volume, wherein the reaction chamber contains a reagent in contact with the reaction chamber, and wherein the disposable cartridge further comprises a clot-seeking probe, which probe is electrically conductive and is adapted to move into and out of the sample volume under the influence of a magnetic field, and wherein, in use, the probe moves into and out of the sample volume intermittently, thereby providing intermittent physical contact between the sample and the probe, and wherein the probe is electrically connected as part of a circuit that is further in contact with the reaction chamber, such that when the cartridge is placed within the matching reader, and the probe is in contact with the reaction volume, either directly or through clot material which is in contact with both the reaction volume and the probe, an electrical current flows through the electrical circuit, which current may be detected by the reader.