Abstract

A method of noninvasive monitoring of human tissue and blood components based on optical diffuse scattering spectroscopy combined with metabolic heat measurements has been developed. Developed compact fiber optical and thermal sensor measures thermal generation, heat balance, blood flow rate, hemoglobin and it’s derivative concentrations and environment conditions. It contains thermal and optical detectors, halogen lamp and LEDs, multi leg fiber optical bundle to measure diffuse light scattering inside and through the patient body including vascular system, which contributes to the control of the body temperature. Measurements of surface cutaneous tissue thermal radiation, ambient room temperature and background radiation temperature are used to measure conduction, convection, and radiation of heat from the human body. Blood flow rate in the body is estimated from the change in temperature for the contact and adjacent thermal detectors. Multi wavelength spectroscopy provides a reflectance spectra which are converted to absorbance values.

The calibration and measurement processes are performed independently. Methods of multivariate statistical analysis involving the variables from sensor signals, polynomials from various variables, regression analysis of individual patients, and cluster analysis of patients group were applied to convert various signals from the sensor pickup into physicochemical variables.

Obtained data show that the method provides a foundation for noninvasive measuring several biochemical parameters of blood. Further developments of the technology which is under progress now are the following: clinical studies to further characterize the performance of this technology and development of compact and low cost sensor device for home diagnostics.

© 2007 SPIE