Optode Sensor Reference Region Aging Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Optode sensors face challenges in accurately measuring species concentration over time due to aging of chemical transducers, which affects their sensitivity and reliability in detecting the presence and concentration of species in analytes.
Innovation Solution
The system incorporates a reference region with a first chemical transducer exposed to a reference environment and a sensor region with a second chemical transducer exposed to the analyte, using an exciter unit to provide excitation light and a processing unit to determine compensation for aging by comparing responses, allowing for accurate measurement of species concentration despite transducer degradation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single chemical transducer is used for measurement, then the device complexity is low, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to aging effects
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor is divided into two functional segments: a sensor region containing a second chemical transducer for measuring species concentration in the analyte, and a reference region containing a first chemical transducer exposed to a reference environment with known species concentration. This segmentation allows independent monitoring of aging effects in the reference region while maintaining measurement functionality in the sensor region, thereby improving measurement precision without excessive complexity increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The reference chemical transducer acts as an intermediary that indirectly measures aging effects. By comparing the response of the sensor transducer to the reference transducer, the system can compensate for aging-induced sensitivity changes without requiring direct intervention or recalibration, thus maintaining measurement accuracy while avoiding complex recalibration procedures.
2Reliability
If no reference region is used, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability deteriorates due to inability to compensate for aging
Solution Approach 1:
The reference region is configured in advance with a known reference environment and reference chemical transducer before actual measurements begin. This preliminary setup enables the system to proactively monitor and compensate for aging effects throughout the sensor's operational life, ensuring continuous measurement reliability without requiring intermittent recalibration or maintenance interventions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the response of the reference chemical transducer is continuously compared against expected reference responses. The processing unit uses this feedback to determine aging compensation factors, which are then applied to correct measurements from the sensor transducer, thereby maintaining measurement reliability over time through automatic compensation.
3Measurement precision
If repeated calibration is performed to maintain accuracy, then the measurement precision is maintained, but the loss of time increases due to calibration interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The reference region enables the sensor system to perform self-diagnosis and self-compensation for aging effects. By continuously monitoring the reference transducer's response and comparing it to expected values, the system automatically determines aging compensation factors and applies them to sensor measurements, eliminating the need for external recalibration operations and associated time losses.
Solution Approach 2:
The reference chemical transducer operates continuously alongside the sensor transducer, providing uninterrupted monitoring of aging effects. This continuous operation enables real-time compensation without interrupting the measurement process, thereby maintaining measurement precision while eliminating time losses associated with periodic calibration interruptions.
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 accurate and reliable measurement of species concentration in analytes by compensating for aging effects, maintaining sensor accuracy and reliability throughout the sensor's lifespan without the need for repeated calibration.
Implementation Method 1
The chemical transducer may be a fluorescent or phosphorescent compound
Implementation Method 2
The chemical transducer may be a fluorescent or phosphorescent compound
Implementation Method 3
an exciter unit, a detector unit and a processing unit. The one or more reference regions are exposed to one or more reference environments
Data Source
AI summary
A system for obtaining a measurement of a species of interest. The system includes one or more reference regions, a sensor region, an exciter unit, a detector unit and a processing unit. The exciter unit exposes first and second chemical transducers in the reference and sensor regions, respectively, to an excitation light while they are exposed to reference environments and an analyte, respectively. The detector unit measures responses of the first and the second chemical transducers to the excitation light. The processing unit determines a compensation for aging of the first chemical transducer from a discrepancy between the measurements of the responses of the first chemical transducer and reference responses. The processing unit applies the compensation for aging to the measurement of the response of the second chemical transducer to obtain the measurement of the species of interest in the analyte.