Spectrocsopic distinguishability of glucose from tissues in the porcine eye

An optical, non-invasive technique, Raman spectroscopy, has been used to detect glucose in ex vivo porcine eyes. This method can be used in the development of a detection system that could be an alternative to the current diabetic patients' blood glucose finger-stick test, which is painful and so done infrequently. The measurement system in this study is designed to optimize the signal collection from the anterior chamber of the eye. In this initial study, high concentrations of 10% and 20% glucose solutions are injected into the anterior chamber of the eyes, and the Raman spectrum due to the presence of glucose in identified. Raman spectra of porcine lenses and corneas were also measured to determine the distinguishability of these contributions from the glucose. Although there are Raman peaks of porcine cornea and lens that are close to the positions of signature glucose peaks, they have distinguishable characteristics. The system used in this study was relatively inexpensive and employs a reduced incident laser power compared to the systems used in similar studies of Raman scattering from glucose.