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Abstract

An apparatus and method for making a photometric absorbance measurement of hemoglobin in a blood sample utilizing a reusable cuvette and an inexpensive photometer. The cuvette is a unitary plastic body having a flow-through slot of a predetermined height which allows an absorbance measurement to be made with an undiluted blood sample and which permits cleaning by inserting the body in a liquid cleaning solution. Two absorbance measurements are made, the first at a wavelength at which the absorbance of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin are approximately equal, near an isobestic point, and a second measurement at which these components absorb substantially no light. By making the first measurement near an absorbance minimum at about 510 nm, an absorbance measurement can be made with a relatively thick slot required for cleaning and with an undiluted blood sample and an inexpensive photometer.

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First Claim