Apparatus and method for radio frequency spectroscopy using spectral analysis
First Claim
1. A non-invasive method for determining concentration of at least one target chemical in a specimen, the method comprising the following steps:
- (a) coupling to a specimen a source electromagnetic signal containing simultaneously at least first and second frequency components that are each at least 30 MHz and include harmonics that do not exceed about 1 GHz;
(b) receiving from said specimen at least two spectral components in a return signal;
(c) processing said received at least two spectral components to produce a spectral signature having frequency-identifiable spectral components therein; and
(d) determining a concentration of at least one target chemical in said specimen based upon said spectral signature.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A source of high frequency electromagnetic radiation is coupled to a specimen containing a target chemical whose presence and/or concentration is to be ascertained. Preferably the source radiation includes a plurality of high frequency spectra, at least one of which encourages energy transfer with the chemical of interest. The source radiation is coupled to the specimen via a probe pair that is also used to access a return signal representing an interaction between the source signal and the specimen. The return signal is processed to yield a spectral signature correlating to the target chemical and/or its concentration. Preferably signal processing compares frequency spectra within the source signal to spectra within a sampled return signal. The sampled return signal is a signal obtained by sampling a return signal at the probe pair and by sampling the response to the source signal of a circuit that electrically approximates the specimen. The amplitude and/or phase difference between the sampled return signal and the source signal provides recognition of the spectral signature. Target chemical concentration data may be obtained from the signature and can be displayed in a number of ways. Operation of the signal processor may be optimized using a neural network. In the preferred embodiment, the specimen is a human finger that is pressed against the probe pair, and the chemical is glucose. The invention thus permits a lay user to non-invasively determine his or her glucose level.
401 Citations
32 Claims
-
1. A non-invasive method for determining concentration of at least one target chemical in a specimen, the method comprising the following steps:
-
(a) coupling to a specimen a source electromagnetic signal containing simultaneously at least first and second frequency components that are each at least 30 MHz and include harmonics that do not exceed about 1 GHz; (b) receiving from said specimen at least two spectral components in a return signal; (c) processing said received at least two spectral components to produce a spectral signature having frequency-identifiable spectral components therein; and (d) determining a concentration of at least one target chemical in said specimen based upon said spectral signature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. An apparatus for non-invasively determining concentration of at least one target chemical in a specimen, comprising:
-
(a) means for providing a source electromagnetic signal containing simultaneously at least first and second frequency components that are each at least about 30 MHz and include harmonica that do not exceed about 1 GHz; (b) means for coupling said source electromagnetic signal to a specimen; (c) means for receiving from said specimen at least two spectral components in a return signal; (d) means for processing said received at least two spectral components to produce a spectral signature having frequency-identifiable spectral components therein; and (e) means for determining a concentration of at least one target chemical in said specimen based upon said spectral signature. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
Specification