The long term objective of this project is to demonstrate a hand held system to optically measure the glucose concentration in the aqueous humor of the eye. The specific aims of Phase I are to establish the best measurement wavelengths and to build a laboratory system that will permit spectroscopic measurement of the glucose concentration in the aqueous humor and to establish the correlation between the glucose level in the aqueous humor and peripheral blood. The successful completion of this project will allow non-invasive measurement of glucose and will replace the existing "finger stick" systems that are used for home glucose monitoring. The higher patient acceptance and lower cost of the system will improve the treatment of diabetes. The system will establish the technology of using fiber optics and a graded index lens to precisely locate an optical beam and direct the beam transversely through the cornea and aqueous humor to allow a precise transversely through the cornea and aqueous humor to allow a precise measurement of the glucose concentration. Based on fiber optic technology, it will also be possible to develop a continuous monitor with the optical components concealed in the frames of eyeglasses and the readout system worn as a small unit on a belt.
Thesaurus Terms:aqueous humor, biomedical equipment development, glucose, monitoring device diabetes mellitus, fiber optics clinical research, human subjectNational Eye Institute (NEI)
