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Abstract

Methods are provided for noninvasively measuring blood volume and analyte concentration and for obtaining spectroscopic information relating to immobile tissues, such as skin. One method is for determining concentration of an analyte, such as glucose, in blood of a subject. The method comprises irradiating a region of tissue, such as a fingertip, of the subject with a light source; collecting fluorescence spectra emitted by the region of tissue, the quantity of fluorescence spectra being indicative of blood volume; and collecting Raman spectra emitted by the region of tissue at a wavelength range that corresponds to the analyte. The method further comprises dividing the collected Raman spectra by the collected fluorescence spectra to obtain a number proportional to the concentration of analyte per unit blood volume. The method can further comprise determining the integral of net collected spectra, net collected spectra being a difference between spectra collected while the region of tissue is in a blood-replete state and spectra collected while the region of tissue is in a blood-depleted state. The method can further comprise enhancing the spectra collected by performing adjacent averaging smoothing operations. Blood volume in a region of tissue for spectroscopic measurement can be modulated by applying an ultrasonic transducer to the region of tissue, and also be applying a tourniquet.

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