OPTICAL GLUCOSE SENSOR APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR THE OPTICAL DETEKTION OF GLUCOSE

摘要

A non-invasive apparatus and method of optically sensing the glucose concentration of a solution is provided. The optical glucose sensor is based on the fact that glucose solutions have a magnetic optical rotatory effect (MORE) such that when a magnetic field is set up in a glucose solution there is a rotation of the polarization vector of the incident light that is proportional to the path length, magnetic field strength, and the concentration of glucose in the solution. The optical glucose sensor includes a laser that passes a beam of polarized light through the glucose solution (i.e. aqueous humor or an eye) while a coil sets up a magnetic field (B) in the solution. A photomultiplier tube provides an output signal indicative of the rotation of the polarization vector of incident light. The beam of light is also modulated by a Faraday rotator, which is controlled by a lock-in amplifier that closes a feed back loop. The output of the lock-in amplifier generates a signal indicative of the glucose concentration in the solution, which may be displayed on an oscilloscope or provided to a processor, which displays a readout indicative of the glucose concentration.