Diabetes has been a serious problem that poses threat to people's health all around the world. It is still a challenge for us to detect blood glucose concentration continuously and non-invasively. In this research, we developed a free-space spectrum domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) system for non-invasive blood glucose detection which possessed advantages of easy construction, analyzation and control. In this system, a laser with center wavelength of 980nm was applied because of its low absorption in both glucose and water, which was suitable for OCT imaging. However, the laser with wavelength of 980nm was not used in the OCT with optic fiber type which was commercially designed for wavelengths of 830nm, 1310nm and 1550nm. By applying a dispersing prism, we could obtain higher resolution spectrum to acquire better OCT images and more accurate glucose concentration. The tomography function of this free-space SD-OCT system was proved to work by scanning onion sample. Pristella maxillaris is a kind of fish with transparent body structure and suitable size, thus we consider it to be an ideal animal for blood glucose measurement by optical methods. We cultivated pristella maxillaris, an ideal fish for this experiment, in glucose solutions with five different concentrations as samples to study glucose monitoring. The OCT signals of the five groups correlated respectively to the glucose concentrations. Therefore, our method provided the potential for measuring blood glucose concentration non-invasively.
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