Method and apparatus of handling multiple sensors in a glucose monitoring instrument system

摘要

A sensor dispensing instrument includes a sensor magazine that contains a plurality of blood glucose sensors disposed in sensor slots. Each of the sensor slots is in fluid communication with a desiccant cavity in which desiccant material is disposed. The front and rear walls of the sensor magazine are sealed with burst foils so as to seal the sensor slots and the desiccant cavities. The sensor instrument has an outer housing with a laterally extending magazine opening adapted to receive the sensor magazine. A pivot rod is moved through the magazine and an indexing wheel into an operating position with a detent arm on the instrument housing engaging a detent groove on the magazine to position the magazine in a sensor feeding position. Once so positioned, a sensor push rod is pushed forward resulting in the push rod piercing the rear burst foil and engaging a sensor in one of the sensor slots to thereby push the sensor out through the front burst foil and into a testing position. Once a test is completed, the push rod is advanced forward further to thereby eject the used sensor from the sensor handling instrument. The push rod then is retracted to a standby position. As the push rod is being retracted, a pin associated with the push rod causes the indexing wheel to rotate so that the pivot rod is rotated until the detent arm engages another detent groove so that another sensor slot is in alignment with the push rod.