Blood glucose reflectance meter including a null prompting means and a device for providing a constant brightness light

In a portable blood chemistry monitoring meter having an analog circuit with a variable potentiometer to measure blood chemistry-induced changes in an enzyme-based blood analysis system utilizing disposable test strips to determine blood chemistry concentrations, the improvements comprising:

• dial means to vary manually the resistance of said potentiometer to locate a null position that balances the measure of the blood chemistry-induced changes in the chemistries of the disposable test strips;
• and
• calibration means integral with said dial means to receive replaceable, pre-printed, man-readable blood chemistry concentrations that correspond to the null positions located by said dial means and that are empirically calibrated to the batch lot variations in the chemistries of the disposable test strips used in the meter.

In a portable blood glucose monitoring meter having an analog circuit with a variable potentiometer to measure blood glucose-induced changes in the chemistries of disposable test strips to determine blood glucose concentrations, the improvements comprising:

• a sliding pointer with means to vary manually the resistance of the potentiometer to locate a null position that balances the measure of the blood glucose-induced changes in the chemistries of disposable test strips;
• and
• slot means to receive disposable test strips, the disposable test strips bearing calibration means that will be in registered juxtaposition with said sliding pointer when received by said slot means, said calibration means including man-readable blood glucose concentrations that correspond to the null positions located by said sliding pointer and that have been empirically calibrated to the batch lot variations in the chemistries of the disposable test strips.

In a portable blood chemistry monitoring meter having an analog circuit with a variable potentiometer to measure blood chemistry-induced changes in an enzyme-based blood analysis system utilizing disposable test strips to determine blood chemistry concentrations, the improvements comprising:

• a sliding pointer with means to vary manually the resistance of the potentiometer to locate a null position that balances the measure of the blood chemistry-induced changes in the chemistries of disposable test strips;
• and
• slot means to receive disposable test strips, the disposable test strips bearing calibration means that will be in registered juxtaposition with said sliding pointer when received by said slot means, said calibration means including man-readable blood chemistry concentrations that correspond to the null positions located by said sliding pointer and that have been empirically calibrated to the batch lot variations in the chemistries of the disposable test strips.

In a disposable test strip for a portable blood chemistry monitoring meter having an analog circuit with a variable potentiometer to measure blood chemistry-induced changes in an enzyme-based blood analysis system applied to the test strip to determine blood chemistry concentrations, the improvements comprising:

• calibration means to calibrate the batch lot variations in the chemistries of the enzyme-based blood analysis system in a man-readable format, said calibration means including pre-printed, man-readable blood chemistry concentrations registered directly on the test strip in positions corresponding to blood chemistry concentrations located by empirical testing with known blood chemistry concentrations.