1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a blood glucose monitoring apparatus and method.
2. Description of Related Art
There are approximately between 2 and 4 million people in the United States with diabetes. This amounts to about 2% of the population. Many of these people need to take one or more shots of insulin each day. As a result, there is a need to monitor the glucose level in the blood because these glucose levels often fluctuate due to several factors.
There are many devices on the market known for testing the blood glucose level. One such method is a chemical method using a dye indicator. The glucose in the blood reacts with a reagent and the final color is correlated with a different glucose concentration. This is done by utilizing a small plastic strip and the color is read by visual or photo-reflectance methods.
The accuracy of these tests, however, is relatively low. Their value mainly lies in that they are rapid and simple to use although the accuracy is low.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,029 to Van Heuvelen issued Nov. 3, 1987 discloses a blood glucose monitor. The assembly includes a light source which is split into a plurality of beams. One beam is a reference. The other beam is directed toward a prism having a blood sample therebehind to form a reflected beam. The intensity of the reflected beam is compared to the intensity of the reference beam. The angle at which the beam of light is directed at the blood sample is critical. The refractive index of the blood sample is measured by the intensity of the refractor beam. This assembly requires critical angle placement of the prism and blood supply with respect to the incident beam.