Active pulse blood constituent monitoring

A method of non-invasively monitoring concentrations of blood constituents in a living subject, said method comprising:

• irradiating a fleshy medium of a living subject at a measurement site with radiation at a plurality of wavelengths selected for attenuation sensitivity to at least one of a plurality of blood constituent concentrations, said plurality, of blood constituent concentrations including a glucose concentration;
• detecting at said measurement site only light which has been attenuated by said fleshy medium;
• outputting a signal indicative of the intensity of said radiation after attenuation through said fleshy medium;
• extracting portions of said signal due to optical characteristics of said blood to determine a concentration of at least one selected constituent within said subject's bloodstream;
• using a device external to said fleshy medium, changing a volume of blood in the fleshy medium at said measurement site sufficient to alter said output signal to increase a likelihood that at least said glucose concentration can be determined without applying direct mechanical pressure to said fleshy medium at said measurement site;
• and
• causing said glucose concentration to be displayed.

A method of non-invasively monitoring glucose concentrations in a living subject, said method comprising:

• applying pressure at a first location to a fleshy medium to increase a likelihood of determining a glucose concentration in a living subject;
• detecting only light attenuated by said fleshy medium at a second location different from said first location, wherein said applying pressure does not apply direct mechanical pressure to said second location;
• outputting a signal indicative of said detected attenuated light, wherein said signal includes information about said glucose concentration at a resolution differentiable from noise or other blood constituents;
• determining at least said glucose concentration;
• and
• causing said glucose concentration to be displayed.

A system for non-invasively monitoring concentrations of blood constituents in a living subject, said system comprising:

• a light source configured to be positioned at a measurement site and further configured to irradiate a fleshy medium of a living subject with radiation at a plurality of wavelengths selected for attenuation sensitivity to at least one of a plurality of blood constituent concentrations, said plurality of blood constituent concentrations including a glucose concentration, wherein said light source comprises two or more light emitting diodes;
• an optical detector configured to be positioned at said measurement site to detect light which has been attenuated by said fleshy medium, said optical detector configured to generate an output signal indicative of the intensity of said radiation after attenuation through said fleshy medium;
• a signal processor responsive to said output signal to analyze said output signal to extract portions of said signal due to optical characteristics of said blood to determine a concentration of at least one selected constituent within said subject's bloodstream;
• and
• a pressure application device configured to be positioned at a location different from said measurement site to avoid applying direct pressure to said measurement site while causing a change in a volume of blood in the fleshy medium at said measurement site sufficient to alter said output signal to increase a likelihood that said signal processor can determine at least said glucose concentration.

A method of non-invasively monitoring concentrations of blood constituents in a living subject, said method comprising:

• irradiating a fleshy medium of a living subject at a measurement site with radiation at a plurality of wavelengths selected for attenuation sensitivity to at least one of a plurality of blood constituent concentrations, said plurality of blood constituent concentrations including a glucose concentration, wherein irradiating comprises using two or more light emitting diodes;
• detecting at said measurement site light which has been attenuated by said fleshy medium;
• outputting a signal indicative of the detected light;
• extracting portions of said signal due to optical characteristics of said blood to determine a concentration of at least one selected constituent within said subject's bloodstream;
• using a device external to said fleshy medium, changing a volume of blood in the fleshy medium at said measurement site sufficient to alter said output signal to increase a likelihood that at least said glucose concentration can be determined without applying direct mechanical pressure to said fleshy medium at said measurement site;
• and
• causing said glucose concentration to be displayed.

A method of non-invasively monitoring glucose concentrations in a living subject, said method comprising:

• irradiating a fleshy medium of a living subject using two or more light emitting diodes;
• applying pressure at a first location to a fleshy medium to increase a likelihood of determining a glucose concentration in a living subject;
• detecting light attenuated by said fleshy medium at a second location different from said first location, wherein said applying pressure does not apply direct mechanical pressure to said fleshy medium at said second location;
• outputting a signal indicative of said detected attenuated light, wherein said signal includes information about said glucose concentration at a resolution differentiable from noise or other blood constituents;
• determining at least said glucose concentration;
• and
• causing glucose concentration to be displayed.