Methods and systems for hematocrit measurement

1. A method for measuring glucose in a blood sample, comprising:

measuring a glucose response current generating by an excitation voltage applied to a glucose electrode on a test strip for measuring a glucose concentration in the blood sample;

generating a second excitation voltage using a digital to analog converter and passing the second excitation voltage through a low pass filter to remove higher frequencies to provide a pure sinusoidal frequency;

measuring a hematocrit response current generated by the second excitation voltage applied to a hematocrit electrode on the test strip for measuring hematocrit in a blood sample, the measured hematocrit response current being used with a Thevenin equivalent circuit to calculate a hematocrit complex impedance value;

mapping the calculated hematocrit complex impedance value to a hematocrit concentration in the blood sample;

correcting the measured glucose concentration in the blood sampled using the mapped hematocrit concentration.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hematocrit response current is inversely proportional to the hematocrit concentration in the blood sample.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting the blood sample for analysis.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the glucose concentration is dependent on the mapped hematocrit concentration.

5. A system for diagnostic testing comprising:

a test strip; and

an electronic meter for performing a diagnostic test on a sample applied to the test strip inserted therein, the electronic meter comprising:

a housing having a test port for receiving the test strip, and

a processor programmed to perform the steps of:

measuring hematocrit in the sample placed onto the test strip using a Thevenin equivalent circuit to calculate a hematocrit complex impedance value; and

mapping the calculated hematocrit complex impedance value to a hematocrit concentration in the sample; and

adjusting a concentration of glucose in the sample using the mapped hematocrit concentration

wherein measuring the hematocrit includes measuring a response current to an excitation voltage, the excitation voltage being generated by a digital to analog converter and being passed through a low pass filter to remove higher frequencies to provide a pure sinusoidal frequency, the measured response current being used to calculate the hematocrit complex impedance value.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein an excitation signal is applied to the sample such that the response to the excitation signal is analyzed to determine a glucose concentration in the sample.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the glucose concentration is dependent on the mapped hematocrit concentration.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the processor is further programmed to detect when the sample is applied to the test strip.

9. The system of claim 5 , wherein the processor is further programmed to display the adjusted glucose concentration.

10. A method for measuring glucose in a blood sample, comprising:

detecting a blood sample;

generating a hematocrit excitation voltage using a sinusoidal excitation source in the form of a digital to analog converter and passing the hematocrit excitation voltage through a low pass filter to remove higher frequencies to provide a pure sinusoidal frequency;

measuring hematocrit in the blood sample placed onto a test strip by measuring a hematocrit response current generated by the hematocrit excitation voltage applied to a hematocrit electrode on the test strip using a Thevenin equivalent circuit to calculate a hematocrit complex impedance value, the Thevenin equivalent circuit including the sinusoidal excitation source for the hematocrit excitation voltage and a reference resistor;

mapping the calculated hematocrit complex impedance value to a hematocrit concentration in the blood sample;

applying an excitation signal to the blood sample such that a response to the excitation signal is analyzed to determine a glucose concentration in the blood sample;

adjusting the glucose concentration in the blood sampled using the mapped hematocrit concentration; and

displaying the adjusted glucose concentration.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the hematocrit response current is inversely proportional to the hematocrit concentration in the blood sample.

12. A system for diagnostic testing comprising:

a test strip; and

an electronic meter for performing a diagnostic test on a sample applied to the test strip inserted therein, the electronic meter comprising:

a housing having a test port for receiving the test strip, and

a processor programmed to perform the steps of:

measuring a hematocrit response current generated by an excitation voltage applied to a hematocrit electrode on the test strip, the measured hematocrit response current being used with a Thevenin equivalent circuit to calculate a hematocrit complex impedance value, the Thevenin equivalent circuit including a sinusoidal excitation source in the form of a digital to analog converter for the excitation voltage and being passed through a low pass filter to remove higher frequencies to provide a pure sinusoidal frequency and a reference resistor; and

mapping the calculated hematocrit complex impedance value to a hematocrit concentration in the blood sample; and

calculating a concentration of glucose in the sample and correcting the calculated concentration of glucose using the mapped hematocrit concentration.