APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CREATING A STABLE OPTICAL INTERFACE

Abstract

A system and a method for creating a stable and reproducible interface of an optical sensor system for measuring blood glucose levels in biological tissue include a dual wedge prism sensor attached to a disposable optic that comprises a focusing lens and an optical window. The disposable optic adheres to the skin to allow a patient to take multiple readings or scans at the same location. The disposable optic includes a Petzval surface placed flush against the skin to maintain the focal point of the optical beam on the surface of the skin. Additionally, the integrity of the sensor signal is maximized by varying the rotation rates of the dual wedge prisms over time in relation to the depth scan rate of the sensor. Optimally, a medium may be injected between the disposable and the skin to match the respective refractive indices and optimize the signal collection of the sensor.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A system configured to resolve variations in an optical path length of an optical sensor system having at least one angled mirror for measuring blood analyte levels in biological tissue, the system comprising: a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith; and one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions to cause the system to: receive a scan of the biological tissue from the optical sensor system, wherein: the scan comprises a depth scan into the biological tissue, the scan further comprises reflection of light on the at least one angled mirror and transmission of the light into the biological tissue, and the at least one angled mirror is configured to oscillate along two axes for at least some of the scan creating variations in the optical path length for at least some of the scan; determine a threshold trigger of a signal produced by the optical sensor system; and set the optical sensor system to begin acquiring data from the signal once the threshold trigger is reached.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein determining the threshold trigger comprises: setting the threshold trigger to a signal intensity value of at least 10 decibels below a first peak intensity value associated with the signal, wherein the first peak intensity value corresponds to an optical interface between the optical sensor system and the biological tissue.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein determining the threshold trigger further comprises: setting the threshold trigger to a signal intensity value above a highest noise peak associated with the signal.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein determining the threshold trigger comprises: setting the threshold trigger to a signal intensity value that relates to a specific structural feature.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the specific structural feature corresponds to an optical interface between the optical sensor system and the biological tissue.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the one or more processors to: set an oscillation rate of the at least one angled mirror to a value such that the oscillation rate in both axes of movement of the at least one angled mirror is not a harmonic of a depth scan rate associated with the optical sensor system.

8. A system configured to stabilize a scan pattern of an optical sensor system having at least one angled mirror for measuring blood analyte levels in biological tissue, the system comprising: a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith; and one or more processors configured to execute the program instructions to cause the system to: receive a scan of the biological tissue from the optical sensor system, wherein: the scan comprises a depth scan into the biological tissue, the scan further comprises reflection of light on the at least one angled mirror and transmission of the light into the biological tissue, and the at least one angled mirror is configured to oscillate along two axes for at least some of the scan creating variations in an optical path length for at least some of the scan; and set an oscillation rate of the at least one angled mirror to a value based on a depth scan rate associated with the optical sensor system.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the value comprises a non-integral value of the depth scan rate associated with the optical sensor system.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the one or more processors to: vary the oscillation rate of the at least one angled mirror while the optical sensor system is in use.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the one or more processors to: vary the oscillation rate of the at least one angled mirror with respect to a second oscillation rate associated with a second angled mirror during a total time of use of the optical sensor system, wherein the oscillation rate is a non-integral value of the second oscillation rate.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the program instructions to further cause the one or more processors to: set a first oscillation rate associated with a first angled mirror to a harmonic integral of a second oscillation rate associated with a second angled mirror, wherein the first oscillation rate is at least one order of magnitude greater than the first oscillation rate; and set the first oscillation rate and the second oscillation rate to non-harmonic integrals of the depth scan rate associated with the optical sensor system.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] The present invention will be more readily understood from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment(s) presented below considered in conjunction with the attached drawings, of which:

[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates a rotating dual wedge prism optical scanning apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] FIG. 2 illustrates a mirror based optical scanning apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] FIG. 3 graphically shows how the relative position of an object being scanned by a rotating wedge prism optical scanning apparatus changes due to the orientation of the wedge prism;

[0043] FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate the relationship between the angular velocity of one or more wedge prisms and the depth scan rate of a sensor in relation to the scan pattern of the sensor, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] FIG. 5A presents a magnified view of the optical interface between an optical window and a surface of skin;

[0045] FIG. 5B illustrates the effect of sweat and bodily fluids on the data produced by an optical signal;

[0046] FIG. 5C presents a magnified view of the effect of sweat and bodily fluids on an optical interface between an optical window and a surface of skin;

[0047] FIG. 6A presents an optical sensor system, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] FIG. 6B presents an optical scanning system, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] FIG. 7A presents a Petzval surface design for a disposable optical lens apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] FIG. 7B presents a pedestal surface design for a disposable optical lens apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] FIG. 8 presents a method of using an optical scanning apparatus to measure blood glucose, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] FIG. 9 presents a method for stabilizing a scan pattern of an optical scanning apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0053] FIG. 10A is a graphical illustration of varying the angular velocities of dual wedge prisms in an optical scanning apparatus over time; and

[0054] FIG. 10B illustrates the effect of varying the angular velocities of dual wedge prisms in an optical scanning apparatus in comparison to the depth scan rate of the sensor apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

[0055] FIG. 6A presents an optical scanning apparatus system or sensor system for taking blood glucose measurements, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the sensor system in FIG. 6A includes a dual wedge prism sensor housing 614 attached to a disposable optical lens apparatus 608 with a Petzval surface 609. In FIG. 6A, sensor system 601 comprises a sensor housing 614 that includes a collimator 602 connected to a light source at a connecter 607, wherein the light source produces a collimated light 603. An example of a connecter is a fiber-optic cable. The collimated light 603 hits a fixed mirror 604, which bends the collimated light 603 to a ninety degree angle. The collimated light 603 passes through rotating dual wedge prisms 605 that deviate the angle of collimated light 603 off the optical axis of the sensor 601. The amount of deviation is based on the thickness of each wedge prism 605 that the collimated light 603 passes through as the wedge prisms 605 rotate. The collimated light 603 then passes through a focusing lens 606, which combines the collimated light 603 into converged light 612, and facilitates focusing the converged light 612 to the focal plane and focal point 611. The converged light 612 then passes through a disposable optical apparatus 608. The disposable apparatus 608 provides an interface between the sensor and the surface of the skin 610 and facilitates setting a distance from focusing lens 606 to the focal plane that is fixed at the skin surface 610 by positioning the interface of the skin surface 610 with the optical window 608 to the focal plane. Because the focal point 611 traces out a curved path as it deviates from the optical axis, attached to the bottom surface of the disposable apparatus 608 is a Petzval dome 609 that acts as an optical window and focuses the focal point 611 onto the surface of the skin 610. As shown in FIG. 6A, the Petzval surface 609 is a separate component physically attached to the bottom surface of the disposable apparatus 608. Alternately, the Petzval surface 609 may be integrally formed from the same material as the disposable apparatus 608. A data collecting device, such as a computer may connect to the sensor housing 614 via the connector 607.

[0056] In FIG. 6B, an interferometer, an optical receiver, a demodulator, and an optical source may be miniaturized and coupled directly to the sensor housing via the connector 607, as shown at 615, making the sensor a “sample arm” of the interferometer. Additionally, the interferometer 615 may be connected to a computer 616 that downloads the sensor data and manipulates the data to produce a blood level glucose or other physiological reading.

[0057] In FIG. 6A, the disposable optical lens apparatus 608, including the focusing lens 606 and the Petzval surface 609, may be attached and left on the skin 610 using a topical adhesive, such as, for example, cyanoacrylate or medical adhesive, such as 3M Medical Adhesive. The sensor housing 614 then attaches to the disposable apparatus 608 at connectors 613. When a patient has completed taking a glucose reading, the patient may remove the sensor housing 614 and leave the disposable apparatus 608 attached to the skin. Thus, for the next glucose reading, which may be at some later point in time, perhaps after a meal, the patient need not worry about trying to place the sensor system 601 in the same location as the previous reading in order to produce comparable results. Instead, the patient may merely attach the sensor housing 614 to the disposable apparatus 608 using connectors 613 whenever a glucose reading is desired. The disposable apparatus 608 then may be removed and discarded at the end of a day, for example, and replaced with a new disposable apparatus 608 the following day. Alternately, the patient may leave the sensor housing 614 attached to the disposable apparatus 608 for an extended period of time to permit continuous blood glucose readings.

[0058] FIGS. 7A and 7B present disposable optical lens apparatuses, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7A, collimated light 603 pass through the focusing lens 606 and combine to become converged light 612 to pass through the disposable optical apparatus 608. The converged light 612 focus into focal point 611 on the focal plane. The focal plane is captured by the dome-shaped Petzval surface 609 attached to the bottom surface of the disposable apparatus 608. The Petzval surface 609 ensures that the focal point 611 remains at the skin interface to optimize the amount of light entering and exiting the skin 610. FIG. 7B presents a similar design of a disposable optical apparatus 608, but with a pedestal-shaped optical window 609, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0059] FIG. 8 presents an exemplary method of using the optical sensor system 601 for blood glucose measurements. The steps of the method need not be in the sequence illustrated, and some steps may occur essentially simultaneously. At step S801, a patient may place or rub an index matching medium, such as glycerine, onto an area of skin 610 where a blood glucose reading is to be taken. Use of an index matching medium facilitates matching the indices of refraction between the material of the Petzval surface 609 with the patient's skin 610 in order to optimize the amount of light that enters and exits the skin 610, and expedites the time required for the Petzval surface 609 to reach equilibrium with the skin surface 610. For example, if the material used in the Petzval surface 609 has an index of refraction of 1.5 and the patient's skin 610 has an index of refraction of 1.3, then without an index matching medium some of the focused converged light 612 entering the skin is lost due to the lower index of refraction of the skin 610. Accordingly, not all of the light exits the skin 610 due to the lower index of refraction, which causes a loss of data. By using an index matching medium with, in this example, a refractive index of 1.4, the medium provides an optical transition for the converged light 612 between the Petzval surface 609 and the skin 610, which increases the amount of light that enters and exits the skin 610. Without the index matching medium, a patient would have to wait upwards of 60 to 90 minutes for the skin to produce sweat and other skin oils at the area where the disposable is placed, in order to optimize the data collection of the sensor.

[0060] With the medium in place, at step S802, the patient may adhere the disposable lens apparatus 608 to the area where the index matching medium was placed. Common adhesives such as cyanoacrylate or medical adhesive may be used to secure the disposable apparatus 608 to the skin 610. Once the patient feels that the disposable apparatus 608 is secure, at step S803, the patient couples the sensor housing 614 to the disposable apparatus 608 using the connectors 613.

[0061] At step S804, sensor diagnostics verify that a threshold trigger of 45 dB has been pre-set to normalize the scans and resolve for variations in the optical path lengths of the scans produced by the rotating wedge prisms 605 and, accordingly, the change in the thickness of each wedge prism 605 during the rotations. At step S805, sensor diagnostics verify that the angular velocity of each wedge prism 605 has been pre-set to a value such that the lateral position of each focused scan spot moves less than 10× the diameter of the focused scan spot during the data acquisition of the depth scan. For example, if focused scan spot size has a diameter of 20 microns, then the angular velocity is set to a value such that the focused beam 611 does not move laterally more than 200 microns during the depth scan. By setting the angular velocity of each wedge prism 605 to such a value, the distortion in the depth scale of each scan produced by the change in thickness of the wedge prism 605 as it rotates is minimized. The threshold trigger, depth scan rate and angular velocities are presets that may be optimized and built into the sensor system 601.

[0062] At step S806, the patient sets the sensor system 601 to begin scanning the skin 610. Since a threshold trigger was set at 45 dB in step S804, the sensor system 601 will not accumulate scan data until the intensity of the optical signal produced by the sensor system 601 reaches a value of 45 dB. Preferably, the threshold is above the highest noise peak produced by the signal but at least 10 dB lower than the intensity peak at the interface between the skin 610 and the disposable apparatus 614.

[0063] Once the sensor system 601 has completed taking multiple scans, preferably around 1500 scans, at step S807, the sensor housing 614 may be removed from the disposable apparatus 608, or, alternately, the sensor housing 614 may remain and begin to take another glucose reading. The disposable apparatus 608 remains adhered to the patient's skin 610. The scan data then is manipulated by computer 616 connected to the interferometer 615. Because the threshold trigger was used, all the scans taken begin at a signal intensity of 45 dB, which is equivalent to Time 0, and accordingly, at step S808, the scans are averaged to reduce the speckle associated with the sensor 601. At step S809, the averaged scan data is manipulated using algorithms, such as those described in U.S. Provisional Applications Nos. 60/671,007 and 60/671,285, to derive blood glucose levels. At any later time, such as after a meal, the patient may reattach the sensor housing 614 to the disposable apparatus 608 to take another glucose measurement.

[0064] Alternately, the sensor system 601 may be designed to not use a threshold trigger setting at S804, and may normalize the scans once the data has been acquired. For example, once the sensor completes a glucose reading at step S807, computer 616 of the sensor system 601 may apply a peak locating algorithm such as, for example, Gaussian peak fitting, to the first scan to locate the first peak, at step S810. Once step S810 has been completed, the peak locating algorithm is applied to each successive scan, as shown at step S811. At step S812, the successive scans are normalized in depth against the first scan by essentially designating the location of each peak as at Time 0, in order to average the scans together. Thus, any distortion in the optical path length due to the change in the thickness of the wedge prisms 605 as they rotate is removed.

[0065] FIG. 9 presents an exemplary method for stabilizing the scan pattern of sensor 601 and is discussed in conjunction with FIG. 10A, which is a graphical illustration of varying the angular velocities of the dual wedge prisms 605 of sensor system 601. When using the sensor system 601 to take a blood glucose measurement, the first wedge prism 605 begins rotating at a rate of 2.1 revolutions per second (“rps”), which is equivalent to 2.1 Hz, at step S901, as shown at 1001 in FIG. 10A. Similarly, at step S902, the second wedge prism 605 begins rotating at a rate of 1.3 Hz, as shown at 1002, where 2.1 Hz and 1.3 Hz are not integrals of each other. The sensor system 601 then begins to perform depth scans at a rate of 30 Hz, at step S903. An integral of 30 Hz is 2 Hz (i.e., 2 multiplied by 15 equals 30). Additionally, another integral of 30 Hz is 1.5 Hz (i.e., 1.5 multiplied by 20 equals 30 Hz). Thus, although the wedge prisms 605 begin to rotate at rates that are non-integrals of 30 Hz, if the angular velocities 1001, 1002 of both wedge prisms 605 remain at 2.1 Hz and 1.3 Hz, the angular velocities may drift towards 2.0 Hz and 1.5 Hz, thereby becoming integrals of 30 Hz, and preventing conformal coverage of the scan pattern area of the skin 610.

[0066] To prevent the angular velocities from becoming integrals of the depth scan rate and remaining at the integral rates, both angular velocities 1001 and 1002 of the wedge prisms 605 are varied over time, in relation to the depth scan rate and in relation to each wedge prism 605, as shown in FIG. 10A. At step S904, the angular velocity 1001 of the first wedge prism 605 is varied as the sensor system 601 continues to perform depth scans. In FIG. 10A, the angular velocity 1001 of the first wedge prism 605 is sinusoidal, oscillating from 2.5 Hz to 1.7 Hz, over a period of 6500 milliseconds, or 6.5 seconds. At step S905, the angular velocity 1002 of the second wedge prism 605 is varied independent of the angular velocity 1001 of the first wedge prism 605, as shown in FIG. 10A. In FIG. 10A, the angular velocity 1002 of the second wedge prism 605 is sinusoidal, oscillating from 1.55 Hz to 1.1 Hz, over a period of 5250 milliseconds, or 5.25 seconds. Thus, although the angular velocities of both wedge prisms 605 may hit a harmonic of 30 Hz during the variation, the angular velocities only remain an integral of 30 rpm for one or two depth scans before the velocities change, thereby minimizing the loss of depth scan data due to the angular velocities being integrals of the depth scan rate. The result is a random, conformal mapping of the scanned surface area of the skin 610 with minimal overlapping within the results, as shown at step S906.

[0067] FIG. 10B illustrates the results of varying the angular velocities of the wedge prisms 605 over time with respect the depth scan rate of sensor system 601 and with respect to each wedge prism 605. By minimizing the potential for a harmonic phase to be created between the depth scan rate and the angular velocities of the wedge prisms 605, conformal coverage of the area of skin 610 scanned is optimized, with each dot representing a position of an individual depth scan on the skin 610.

[0068] While the present invention has been described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.