Microwave sensor for the investigation of glucose-dependent reflection properties in aqueous samples

Abstract

The reported paper presents the development of a microwave sensor with a resonant frequency 2.4 GHz. The sensor is also demonstrated in vitro to investigate the variation in its response as a function of glucose concentration. The sensor could be used for the monitoring of blood glucose level in diabetics through non-invasive technology. The approach followed is based on the notion that, change in glucose concentration in the blood affects dielectric properties of blood which in turn produce an impact on reflection properties of the sensor. This effect on response of sensor will be ultimately used to estimate blood glucose concentration. The design specifications considered for the development of sensor are defined in the paper. The experimental setup for in vitro experiment and procedure employed for the investigation of the reflection properties of the sensor as a function of glucose concentration are also discussed in detail. The shift in resonance frequency and the change in the magnitude of the reflection coefficient of proposed sensor have been observed. The reported measurement results are the preliminary results in exploring the implementation of proposed sensor for non-invasive blood glucose monitoring.

Keywords:

• Glucose concentration
• microwave sensor
• non-invasive
• reflection coefficient
• resonant frequency

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Director, IIT Delhi for the permission to publish the work. The authors are also grateful to the Director CSIR-NPL India for providing the infrastructure services required to perform the reported work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Science and Engineering Research Board, the Department of Science and Technology under Ministry of Science and Technology under Grant SB/EMEQ-023/2014.