Non-invasive glucose determination in the human eye

For non-invasive in vivo glucose determinations by means of near-infrared spectroscopy, the anterior chamber of the human eye is a promising site. An optical set-up for the non-invasive glucose determination in the human eye precisely in the anterior chamber with a beam reflected from the surface of the eye lens is presented here. As the anterior chamber has a depth of 3.13G0.50 mm, the beam follows an optical path of 5.3–7.3 mm depending on the angle of incidence, which is individually constant. We will show that it is possible to acquire good concentration predictions for physiological glucose concentrations with such a long optical path. A chemometric study of NIR glucose spectra with concentrations of glucose in water of 10–350 mg/dL (0.56–1.94 mmol/L) resulted in a calibration model which was able to predict physiological glucose concentrations with a root mean square error of prediction RMSEPTestZ15.41 mg/dL. The Clarke error grid diagram shows that the model performs well according to medical impact. Using a first in vivo set-up, the precision is not sufficient for a reliable prediction of glucose concentration, especially due to the flickering of the patient’s eye and the low reflectivity of the eye lens. Therefore, we have designed a new in vivo set-up: a prototype for a self-monitoring device with controlled geometry and laser radiation at several distinct wavelengths instead of the halogen lamp as light source. This allows a far higher signal/noise ratio under much better reproducible geometrical conditions and at the same time a much smaller necessary light flux. q 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.