Camera-Coupled Chemical Sensing for Non-Invasive Glucose Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current glucose monitoring methods for diabetes require invasive blood draws, which are painful and inconvenient, and existing non-invasive methods face challenges in sensitivity, selectivity, and repeatability, while also being limited by skin spectral artifacts.
Innovation Solution
The use of brighter light sources like fiber-based supercontinuum lasers, super-luminescent laser diodes, or light-emitting diodes in the near-infrared spectrum, combined with pattern matching and software techniques, to enhance signal levels and reduce interference from skin artifacts, allowing for non-invasive glucose monitoring through the teeth with improved accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If invasive blood draw methods are used for glucose monitoring, then measurement accuracy is improved, but patient comfort and convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical invasive blood draw system with an optical detection system. A camera sensor captures images of teeth, and image processing algorithms extract glucose information from the visual data, eliminating the need for needles and blood collection while maintaining measurement capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces teeth as an intermediary medium between the glucose in blood and the camera sensor. Glucose in the bloodstream affects tooth properties (such as translucency or color), which can be detected by the camera, thereby indirectly measuring glucose levels without direct blood contact
2Ease of operation
If non-invasive methods are used for glucose monitoring, then patient comfort is improved, but measurement precision and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional optical detection methods with a camera-based imaging system. Instead of using complex optical sensors that struggle with skin artifacts, the system uses a standard camera to capture tooth images, which are then processed to extract glucose information with higher precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the measurement target from the problematic environment (skin with spectral artifacts) to a cleaner environment (teeth). By focusing on tooth imaging rather than skin imaging, the system removes the interfering spectral artifacts while maintaining non-invasive measurement
3Ease of operation
If skin-based non-invasive monitoring is used, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement reliability deteriorates due to skin spectral artifacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the measurement interface from skin to teeth. Teeth provide a more stable and artifact-free optical interface compared to skin, eliminating the spectral interference problems while maintaining ease of non-invasive operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent exploits color or translucency changes in teeth that correlate with glucose levels. By monitoring these optical property changes in tooth images, the system achieves reliable glucose measurement without the spectral artifacts that plague skin-based methods
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables non-invasive, accurate, and repeatable glucose monitoring, reducing patient discomfort and overcoming skin interference, with potential for wireless data communication and processing.
Implementation Method 1
The camera sensor is configured to detect light having a wavelength that corresponds to an absorption line of glucose
Implementation Method 2
The use of brighter light sources like fiber-based supercontinuum lasers, super-luminescent laser diodes, or light-emitting diodes in the near-infrared spectrum
Implementation Method 3
The use of brighter light sources like fiber-based supercontinuum lasers, super-luminescent laser diodes, or light-emitting diodes in the near-infrared spectrum
Data Source
AI summary
A measurement system comprises near-infrared semiconductor diodes operating in pulsed mode and a detection system comprising a camera configured to be synchronized to the diodes and to capture light reflected from bodily tissue. The measurement system may also comprise a time-of-flight sensor or a beam splitter to separate the diode light into a plurality of spatially separated lights. The measurement system including a processor is further coupled to a chemical detection system comprising a thermal or lamp based infrared light source and a multi-path spectroscopy system, comprising a first arm performing spectroscopy on a first gas and a second arm performing spectroscopy on a second gas. The processor is configured to process the image from the camera system and the information from the spectroscopy system. The first gas may comprise carbon dioxide, while the second gas may comprise hydrocarbons. The measurement system may be mounted in a vehicle.