Inlight Solutions, Inc.

Trutouch Technologies, Inc.

Rio Grande Medical Technologies, Inc.

Medici Instruments LLC

Inlight Solutions, Inc. Merly Riogrande Technologies, Inc.

Russell E Abbink

John D Maynard

Trent D Ridder

Robert D Johnson

Robert Kjell Rowe

Robert G Messerschmidt

Ben Ver Steeg

Andrew D Meigs

James McNally

Rob Johnson

Alan Ross

Edward L Hull

Michael Joseph Haass

Matthew Jarrod Novak

Mike Mills

Steven T Strohl

M Ries Robinson

Dashiell A Birnkrant

Stephan P Corcoran

Craig Gardner

Bentley Laaksonen

Howland Jones

David Nuñez

William Gruner

The present invention provides methods and apparatuses for accurate noninvasive determination of tissue properties. Some embodiments of the present invention comprise an optical sampler having an illumination subsystem, adapted to communicate light having a first polarization to a tissue surface; a collection subsystem, adapted to collect light having a second polarization communicated from the tissue after interaction with the tissue; wherein the first polarization is different from the second polarization. The difference in the polarizations can discourage collection of light specularly reflected from the tissue surface, and can encourage preferential collection of light that has interacted with a desired depth of penetration or path length distribution in the tissue. The different polarizations can, as examples, be linear polarizations with an angle between, or elliptical polarizations of different handedness.

Methods and apparatuses for noninvasive determinations of analytes

Methods and apparatuses for the determination of an attribute of the tissue of an individual use non-invasive Raman spectroscopy. For example, the alcohol concentration in the blood or tissue of an individual can be determined non-invasively. A portion of the tissue is illuminated with light, the light propagates into the tissue where it is Raman scattered within the tissue. The Raman scattered light is then detected and can be combined with a model relating Raman spectra to alcohol concentration in order to determine the alcohol concentration in the blood or tissue of the individual. Correction techniques can be used to reduce determination errors due to detection of light other than that from Raman scattering from the alcohol in the tissue. Other biologic information can be used in combination with the Raman spectral properties to aid in the determination of alcohol concentration, for example age of the individual, height of the individual, weight of the individual, medical history of the individual and his/her family, ethnicity, skin melanin content, or a combination thereof. The method and apparatus can be highly optimized to provide reproducible and, preferably, uniform radiance of the tissue, low tissue sampling error, depth targeting of the tissue layers or sample locations that contain the attribute of interest, efficient collection of Raman spectra from the tissue, high optical throughput, high photometric accuracy, large dynamic range, excellent thermal stability, effective calibration maintenance, effective calibration transfer, built-in quality control, and ease-of-use.

Apparatuses for noninvasive determination of in vivo alcohol concentration using raman spectroscopy

Methods for noninvasive determination of in vivo alcohol concentration using Raman spectroscopy

An apparatus and method for noninvasive determination of analyte properties of human tissue by quantitative infrared spectroscopy to clinically relevant levels of precision and accuracy. The system includes subsystems optimized to contend with the complexities of the tissue spectrum, high signal-to-noise ratio and photometric accuracy requirements, tissue sampling errors, calibration maintenance problems, and calibration transfer problems. The subsystems can include an illumination/modulation subsystem, a tissue sampling subsystem, a data acquisition subsystem, a computing subsystem, and a calibration subsystem. The invention can provide analyte property determination and identity determination or verification from the same spectroscopic information, making unauthorized use or misleading results less likely than in systems that use separate analyte and identity determinations. The invention can be used to control and monitor individuals accessing controlled environments.

System for noninvasive determination of analytes in tissue

The present invention provides an optical transmission device, comprising a chamber having a light input into the chamber, and having a first port allowing light to pass out of the chamber, and comprising internal surfaces where at least a portion of the surfaces is diffusely reflecting, and where at least a portion of the one or more surfaces is specularly reflecting, and where the light input and the first port and the one or more surfaces are configured such that substantially all light entering the chamber via the light source within a first predetermined aperture must encounter the diffusely reflecting portion before exiting the chamber via the first port within a second predetermined aperture. The invention can provide substantially homogenous light transmission, both as a source of light for optical systems and as a collector of light from a sample.

Illumination source and non-invasive tissue sampling system

The present invention relates generally to non-invasive methods and apparatuses for determining analyte properties of a subject and identity characteristics of a subject. Embodiments of the present invention provide analyte property determination and identity determination or verification from the same spectroscopic information, making unauthorized use or misleading results less likely that in systems that include separate analyte and identity determinations. The invention can be used to control and monitor individuals accessing controlled environments.

Apparatus and method for noninvasively monitoring for the presence of alcohol or substances of abuse in controlled environments

An apparatus and method for non-invasive determination of attributes of human tissue by quantitative infrared spectroscopy. The system includes subsystems optimized to contend with the complexities of the tissue spectrum, high signal-to-noise ratio and photometric accuracy requirements, tissue sampling errors, calibration maintenance problems, and calibration transfer problems. The subsystems include an illumination subsystem, a tissue sampling subsystem, a spectrometer subsystem, a data acquisition subsystem, and a processing subsystem. The invention is applicable, as examples, to determining the concentration or change of concentration of alcohol in human tissue.

Noninvasive determination of alcohol in tissue

The present invention provides methods for generating interferometric information. Interferometric information from refractively scanned interferometers can contain errors due to wavelength-dependent refractive indices. The wavelength-dependent refractive indices of elements of the interferometer can produce errors when the OPD at a reference wavelength is different than the OPD at a sample wavelength. The invention can provide correction of interferometric information using relationships between the OPD at the wavelengths of interest, which correction can also be dependent on physical relationships among elements of the interferometer.

Method of generating interferometric information

An interferometer spectrometer that has reduced alignment sensitivity is described herein. Parallelism of an output ray pair formed by a single input ray is not affected by variations in relative alignment of the components. In comparison to other compensated interferometer designs, lateral separation errors in the output ray pair due to optical component misalignment are reduced. The reduced alignment sensitivity may be accomplished by utilizing simple planar components that are common to both light paths. The reduced alignment sensitivity and simplicity in design provides a more compact and more robust interferometer, with reduced manufacturing costs associated therewith. An elliptical field of view light source that utilizes an array of collimator lenses is also described. The light source provides a more compact design than a single circular collimator lens of the same area, and is suitable for single channel or multi-channel use.

Interferometer spectrometer with reduced alignment sensitivity

Spectroscopic system and spectrometers including an optical bandpass filter unit having a plurality of bandpass regions and a spatial encoding unit for encoding discrete frequencies of light passing through the optical filter. The incorporation of the encoding unit allows the spectrometer system to use a detector having one or a small number of elements, rather than using a more expensive detector array typically used with filter-based spectrometers. The system can also include an integrating chamber that collects the light that is not transmitted through the bandpass filter unit, and redirects this light to strike the filter unit again, resulting in a significant increase in the optical power passing through the filter. The integrating chamber maximizes the return of the reflected light to the filter assembly and minimizes optical losses. The integrating chamber may be an orthogonal design to preserve the optical geometric characteristics of the light entering the chamber.

Encoded variable filter spectrometer

The present invention provides an improved interferometer design. Embodiments of the present invention provide a beam splitter, mounted with first and second reflective elements. An OPD element mounts relative to the other elements such that an optical path in the interferometer passes through the OPD element. The OPD element can be, for example, a plate comprising a refractive material mounted such that the thickness of the refractive material encountered by the optical path through the OPD element is variable. Various arrangements of components are described, and methods of constructing and methods of aligning such interferometers are also described.

Interferometer

Systems and methods for establishing and/or maintaining the prediction capability over time of a multivariate calibration model designed for quantitative optical spectroscopic measurement of attributes or analytes in bodily tissues, bodily fluids or other biological samples, which are particularly useful when the spectral absorbance of the attribute or analyte is small relative to the background. The present invention provides an optically similar reference sample to capture the characteristics of instrument and environmental variation and to reduce the effect of such variation on the measurement capability of the model. The optically similar reference is preferably stable over time and is designed such that its optical properties are sufficiently matched to the sample of interest that instrument and environmental variations are captured in the same manner in both the test sample of interest and the optically similar reference sample. The optically similar reference sample may include one or more physical components which are spectroscopically measured in a manner which closely mimics the spectroscopic measurement of the test sample of interest. Spectral similarity may also be achieved by using alternative components with spectral characteristics similar to the components contained in the test sample of interest.

Optically similar reference samples and related methods for multivariate calibration models used in optical spectroscopy

The present invention provides means for correcting interferometer alignment errors through the use of corrective elements. The corrective elements allow reduced accuracy in the assembly process. Residual alignment errors caused by imprecise mounting of permanently mounted components can be corrected using relatively low precision positioning of corrector components. The technique can be particularly applicable to the mass production of interferometers, for which achieving and maintaining the required assembly tolerances might otherwise be prohibitively expensive. Interferometers according to the present invention can be used, for example, in optical spectroscopy and in interferometers.

Interferometer alignment

An apparatus and method for non-invasive measurement of glucose in human tissue by quantitative infrared spectroscopy to clinically relevant levels of precision and accuracy. The system includes six subsystems optimized to contend with the complexities of the tissue spectrum, high signal-to-noise ratio and photometric accuracy requirements, tissue sampling errors, calibration maintenance problems, and calibration transfer problems. The six subsystems include an illumination subsystem, a tissue sampling subsystem, a calibration maintenance subsystem, an FTIR spectrometer subsystem, a data acquisition subsystem, and a computing subsystem.

System for non-invasive measurement of glucose in humans

An optical sampling subsystem and method that reduces the effect of errors in an optical sampling subsystem when heterogeneously distributed samples are measured in the path of a spectrometer. The optical sampling subsystem is used to collect the non-uniformly distributed radiation exiting the heterogeneous sample and produce a uniform irradiance at its output. The output is then directed into the wavenumber (inverse of wavelength in centimeters) dispersive or modulating device of the spectrometer. The resulting spectra exhibit less spectral complexity arising from components of the sampling subsystem design and the heterogeneous sample, in particular, the effect of wavenumber shift is minimized. Improved quantitative predictions, qualitative analysis and calibration transfer are direct consequences of the reduced spectral complexity.

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Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Russell E Abbink