Spectroscopy 101

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InLight Solutions is developing non-invasive measurement devices that use near infrared (NIR) optical spectroscopy and multivariate analysis. The technology has been used for years to make quantitative and qualitative optical measurements in life science applications. When applying the technology to measuring glucose, it is the product engineering and the multivariate software algorithms that are critical to producing accurate results. We design our optics and our algorithms to clearly distinguish the target molecule from anything else. This enables us to make dependable measurements.

The devices are made up of three components: a light source, an optical detector, and a spectrometer. The light source shines light into the skin. Much of the light escapes but some bounces back and can be analyzed by the spectrometer with subsequent measurement by the detector. By measuring differences between the light that was sent into the skin and the light that the detector collects, the system can be programmed to selectively analyze a particular molecule. Each molecule responds differently to the light so we can distinguish one from the other by their particular vibration characteristics. The entire system is optimized for glucose measurement. The result is an accurate quantitative measurement of glucose concentration. This explanation is highly simplified. In summary, InLight Solutions has taken a well-proven technology, NIR optical spectroscopy, and optimizes it with better algorithms, optics, and engineered features for measuring particular analytes accurately.