| This dissertation discusses two related clinical applications of visible regime diffuse reflectance spectroscopy as well as two new configurations of liquid crystal microspectrometer suitable in these applications. Total hemoglobin concentration can be determined, and thus anemia diagnosed, using diffuse reflectance signals from the inner lining of the eyelid, the palpebral conjunctiva. Alternative technologies for anemia detection are explored, a theoretical model for light diffusion through the conjunctiva is presented, and predictive models are established relating spectral signatures to hemoglobin concentration. Two separate clinical trials were conducted showing accuracy of hemoglobin determination with respect to invasive determination of 5% and 8% of mean hemoglobin concentration, respectively. Local hemoglobin concentration can also be determined in vivo at individual vessels using a single fiber which is directly applicable in endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery. Clinical trials showed signal differentiation of different hemoglobin levels in laparoscopic cases when pressing the single fiber against an individual vessel, and donor/recipient differentiation in fetal endoscopy cases of twin to twin transfusion syndrome. Liquid crystal technologies can be used to create integrated chip-scale microspectrometers. In one configuration, analog tunable ferroelectric liquid crystals are applied to create a tunable filter spectrometer with resolution from 15-30 nm. In a second configuration, stressed liquid crystal polymer composites are used to create large phase modulators, subsequently applied as single panel Fourier transform spectrometers. Proof of concept studies show a 100 microm stressed liquid crystal polymer in double pass mode is capable of 60 nm resolving power. |
