A Preliminary Investigation into the Design of an Implantable Optical Blood Glucose Sensor

A Trabelsi,M Siaj,M Boukadoum

doi:10.5923/j.ajbe.20110102.11

A Trabelsi, M Siaj + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ajbe.20110102.11

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Abstract

A preliminary investigation into the design of a near-infrared (NIR) optical bio-implant for accurate meas- urement of blood glucose level is reported. The use of an array of electrically pumped vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) diodes at specific wavelengths for high-power narrow single-frequency emission leads to a high signal-to-noise ratio in the measured NIR absorption spectrum while maximizing the sensor's sensitivity to small absorption changes. The emission wavelengths lie within the combination and first-overtone spectral bands known to be dominated by glucose absorption information. A Quantum well infrared (QWI) photodiode transducer senses the received optical power after passing through the blood sample, followed by an artificial neural network (ANN) for the measurement of glucose in a whole blood matrix. For an independent test set made with fresh bovine blood, the optimal ANN topology for processing the two selected spectral bands yielded a standard error of prediction of 0.42 mM (i.e., 7.56 mg/dl) over the glucose level range of 4−20 mM. The empirical results obtained with a prototype mounted on PCB for blood glucose monitoring are closely correlated with the absorption spectra collected on a Vertex 70 Bruker spectrometer.

Highlights

Diabetic patients need to monitor their blood glucose levels several times a day to prevent chronic complications related to the disease
This paper focuses on the preliminary design guidelines of a novel NIR optical bio-implant for accurate measurement of blood glucose level
Preliminary design guidelines into the design of a blood glucose optical bio-implant based on NIR absorption spectroscopy for accurate measurement of blood glucose level are presented

Summary

Introduction

Diabetic patients need to monitor their blood glucose levels several times a day to prevent chronic complications related to the disease. Continuous blood glucose monitoring can lead to substantial improvements in blood glucose control. For this purpose, optical methods (i.e., NIR spectroscopy, polarimetry, Raman spectroscopy) for prediction of blood glucose levels may be an advantageous alternative to current biochemical-reaction and conductivity-based techniques. Optical methods (i.e., NIR spectroscopy, polarimetry, Raman spectroscopy) for prediction of blood glucose levels may be an advantageous alternative to current biochemical-reaction and conductivity-based techniques Their desirable features include a painless measurement process and the reduction of discomfort from repeated finger-stick readings. Extensive efforts have been made both in academia and industry to develop optical blood glucose sensors that can perform continuous blood glucose measurements. An implantable optical blood glucose sensor based on NIR absorption spectroscopy was presented in[1]. The collected absorption spectra were analysed using two multivariate techniques, namely, Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR)

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