For Home UseThe CardioChek System is a unique and highly proprietary technology. The system consists of the CardioChek instrument, PTS Panels Test Strips and a MEMo chip.
The CardioChek analyzer is a hand-held, battery-powered instrument that utilizes a test methodology called reflectance photometry. When a blood sample is applied to the PTS test strip in the analyzer, a series of chemical reactions occur, which ultimately produce a color change on the back of the test strip. The intensity of the color that is produced is proportional to the amount of chemistry to be measured present in the drop of blood. The CardioChek analyzer then compares the intensity of the color to the calibration information stored in the MEMo Chip to calculate and display the result.
PTS Panels Test Strips provide a simple, stable and user-friendly format. They use the same type of chemical reactions used in clinical laboratory equipment. The strips are composed of chemically-impregnated membranes, each of which performs a specific role in measuring the amount of cholesterol or other chemistry in the original drop of blood.
The MEMo Chip is the key link between the strip and
the analyzer. A chip is contained with each vial of strips. It contains specific
calibration and other information that enables the analyzer to "read" each
particular strip.