Concentration measurement using luminescence

Abstract

A method of measuring the concentration of a substance, using a sensor () comprising a luminescent material, an LED light source () which supplies a pulse of light to the sensor to cause luminescence of the material, a detector () for detecting the emitted light and a data processing module () for analysing the signals and indicating the concentration of the substance. In a measuring sequence there is a series of pulses of light spaced apart sufficiently to permit the luminescence to decay between pulses. The signals which are analysed are those generated after each pulse of light has terminated and the luminescence is decaying. The data processing module () comprises a plurality of accumulators (A,B,C andD) which are controlled to be operable over a corresponding plurality of different periods of time during decay of the luminescence. Each accumulator accumulates values indicative of the intensity of the luminescence from the series of pulses in the measuring sequence. The parameters regarding the accumulators are stored in a configuration memory () which is part of the sensor.