The present invention relates to methods and kits for diagnosing, ascertaining the clinical course of myelodysplastic syndrome and ascertaining response to a therapy regimen of myelodysplastic syndrome. The apparatus has a light source, a sensor element, and at least one light detector. The side and bottom edges can be gusseted. An example of such a device is a credit card sized authentication token. The substrate is then annealed such that the metal in regions directly overlying the patterned and exposed silicon reacts with the silicon to form uniform metal silicide at the desired locations.