Method and apparatus for performing and quantifying color changes induced by specific concentrations of biological analytes in an automatically calibrated environment

A system for reading diagnostic test results, the system comprising:

• a diagnostic instrument comprising a paddle, a color reference mounted to the paddle having a plurality of color reference samples of different colors, and a plurality of test media mounted to the paddle, the plurality of test media respectively containing reagents which change color in the presence of particular analytes in a biological sample;
• and
• a portable electronic device comprising a camera sensor for capturing a digital image of at least a portion of the diagnostic instrument and a processor configured to:
• identify at least one of the plurality of color reference samples and at least one of the plurality of test media in the digital image of the diagnostic instrument;
• determine a dominant camera-captured color of a reference sample and a dominant camera-captured color of at least one test medium;
• color correct the dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium based on a correction factor derived at least in part from the dominant camera-captured color of the reference sample to determine a corrected test medium color;
• and
• compare the corrected test medium color to a set of possible test medium colors corresponding to predetermined analyte concentrations to determine a test result including an analyte concentration of the biological sample being tested.

A portable electronic device for analyzing a digital image of a diagnostic instrument, the portable electronic device comprising:

• at least one processor to execute program instructions;
• at least one display device in communication with the at least one processor;
• at least one camera sensor in communication with the at least one processor;
• and
• at least one computer-readable medium in communication with the at least one processor, the at least one computer-readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the portable electronic device to:
• capture a digital image of at least a portion of the diagnostic instrument, which has been exposed to a biological sample, with the camera sensor, the diagnostic instrument comprising at least one color reference comprising a plurality of reference samples of different colors and at least one test medium containing a reagent, which changes color in the presence of particular analytes in the biological sample;
• identify, in the digital image, at least one of the reference samples for the at least one test medium of the diagnostic instrument;
• determine, in the digital image, a dominant camera-captured color of the at least one reference sample and a dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium;
• color correct the dominant camera-captured color of the at least one test medium based on a correction factor derived at least in part from the dominant camera-captured color of the at least one reference sample to determine a corrected test medium color;
• and
• compare the corrected test medium color to a set of possible test medium colors corresponding to predetermined analyte concentrations to determine a test result including an analyte concentration of the biological sample being tested.