Flexible NIR Spectroscopic Sensor for Skin and Fat Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spectroscopic sensors face challenges in accurately measuring near-infrared spectra of tissues, particularly due to interference from skin and fat layers, which affects the determination of sample properties.
Innovation Solution
The development of circuit board-based sensors that include multiple radiation sources, a spectral detector, and an electronic processor. These sensors use long-distance and short-distance radiation sources to illuminate samples, allowing for the measurement of absorbance spectra and correction for spectral contributions from skin and fat layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If long-distance radiation sources are used to illuminate the sample, then the spectral contributions from muscle tissues can be obtained, but the interference from skin and fat layers increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor divides the measurement into multiple segments by using both short-distance and long-distance radiation sources. The short-distance sources measure only skin and fat layers, while long-distance sources measure both skin/fat and muscle tissues. This segmentation allows separate measurement and subsequent subtraction of interfering components to isolate the target muscle tissue spectrum.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful spectral contributions from skin and fat layers are extracted and isolated using short-distance radiation sources. By measuring the spectrum at short distance (where only skin and fat contribute) and subtracting this extracted interference from the long-distance measurement, the pure muscle tissue spectrum can be obtained.
2Measurement precision
If multiple radiation sources at different distances are used, then the interference from skin and fat layers can be corrected, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor achieves multi-functionality by integrating both short-distance and long-distance radiation sources into a single device. This universal sensor can perform both the interference measurement (short distance) and the target measurement (long distance), eliminating the need for separate devices and simplifying the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor merges multiple radiation sources at different distances with a single spectral detector and processing unit into one integrated device. This combination allows simultaneous or sequential acquisition of both short-distance and long-distance spectra, enabling interference correction without requiring multiple separate instruments.
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
The sensors enable accurate determination of sample properties such as oxygen saturation, hemoglobin concentration, and water content by effectively reducing the interference from overlying skin and fat layers, thereby improving the precision of near-infrared spectroscopy.
Implementation Method 1
Near-infrared radiation can generally pass through layers of skin and fat to illuminate blood vessels in muscle tissues
Implementation Method 2
The radiation can be absorbed by hemoglobin in red blood cells
Implementation Method 3
The radiation can be absorbed by hemoglobin in red blood cells, myoglobin in muscle fibers
Implementation Method 4
Radiation is scattered by both muscle fibers and blood cells, and the scattered radiation can be detected and analyzed to determine the wavelength dependence of the scattered radiation
Implementation Method 5
The absorbance spectrum of the various absorbing components in muscle tissues can be determined by comparing the spectra of incident radiation delivered to the tissues and the scattered radiation from the tissues
Data Source
Figure 1A~2
Figure 3A~3B
Figure 4~6B
AI summary
Disclosed herein are sensors that include a flexible mounting member comprising an adhesive surface configured to attach directly to a sample and to assume a shape corresponding to at least a portion of the sample when it attaches to the sample; and a plurality of radiation sources, a spectral detector, and an electronic processor attached to the mounting member, wherein the electronic processor is configured to cause at least two of the radiation sources to direct incident radiation to a sample, to cause the spectral detector to analyze radiation from the sample, and to determine one or more properties of the sample based on the radiation from the sample.