Biomedical application of optical fibre sensors

Abstract

Optical fibre sensors (OFS), as a result of their unique properties such as small size, no interference with electromagnetic radiation, high sensitivity and the ability to design multiplexed or distributed sensing systems, have found applications ranging from structural health monitoring to biomedical and point of care instrumentation. While the former represents the main commercial application for OFS, there is body of literature concerning the deployment of this versatile sensing platform in healthcare. This paper reviews the different types of OFS and their most recent applications in healthcare. It aims to help clinicians to better understand OFS technology and also provides an overview of the challenges involved in the deployment of developed technology in healthcare. Examples of the application of OFS in healthcare are discussed with particular emphasis on recently (2015–2017) published works to avoid replicating recent review papers. The majority of the work on the development of biomedical OFS stops at the laboratory stage and, with a few exceptions, is not explored in healthcare settings. OFSs have yet to fulfil their great potential in healthcare and methods of increasing the adoption of medical devices based on optical fibres are discussed. It is important to consider these factors early in the device development process for successful translation of the developed sensors to healthcare practice.

Multiplexed Remote SPR Detection of Biological Interactions through Optical Fiber Bundles

“…Biomolecular optical fiber sensing is based on different processing methods, frequently relying on the interaction of the evanescent field with the external medium. Indeed, as label free detection can be source of significant advances to produce tools for rapid medical diagnosis, a great number of approaches based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon have been developed [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Several strategies exist to enable the evanescent field to reach the sensed medium: cladding removed evanescent wave, and tapered or fiber Bragg grating configurations were mainly described.…”

Modal interferometric refractive index sensing in microstructured exposed core fibres

“…The analysis of physiological processes and early detection of certain diseases [1] requires sensors capable of probing subtle changes in temperature [2], pH level [3,4], and concentration of biological fluids and gases [3] in hard-to-reach places inside living organisms such as the brain [5], spinal cord [6], ovarian tract [7] and blood vessels [8]. Such changes can often be sensed as small shifts in the optical refractive index of bodily fluids and tissues [8].…”

Real-Time Humidity Measurement during Sports Activity using Optical Fibre Sensing

“…A non-wearable medical device Dermalab ® trans-epidermal water loss (Cortex Technology, DK) was used as a reference. It is suggested that a distributed body network could be established to provide valuable information for improving athletes' physical performance.Compared to electronic humidity sensors, an optical fibre sensor (OFS) offers several advantages such as light weight, miniature size, flexibility, simple configuration and insensitivity to electromagnetic fields [9]. The diameter of a single mode optical fibre is typically 125 µm which is smaller than many textile yarns meaning the OFS can be embedded into garments for wearable sensing applications [9].…”

“…It is suggested that a distributed body network could be established to provide valuable information for improving athletes' physical performance.Compared to electronic humidity sensors, an optical fibre sensor (OFS) offers several advantages such as light weight, miniature size, flexibility, simple configuration and insensitivity to electromagnetic fields [9]. The diameter of a single mode optical fibre is typically 125 µm which is smaller than many textile yarns meaning the OFS can be embedded into garments for wearable sensing applications [9]. A range of different approaches for optical fibre humidity sensing have been proposed [10] including interferometers [11], evanescent wave interactions [12], in-fibre gratings (Bragg and long period gratings) [13][14][15], carbon nanotubes [16], photonic crystal fibres [17] and reflection measurements [18].…”

“…Compared to electronic humidity sensors, an optical fibre sensor (OFS) offers several advantages such as light weight, miniature size, flexibility, simple configuration and insensitivity to electromagnetic fields [9]. The diameter of a single mode optical fibre is typically 125 µm which is smaller than many textile yarns meaning the OFS can be embedded into garments for wearable sensing applications [9].…”