Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2016 Vol I

WCE 2016, June 29 - July 1, 2016, London, U.K.

Advances in Optical Biomedical Sensing

Technology
Temitope O. Takpor, Member, IAENG, and Oboyerulu E. Agboje

 application, and presents some novel optical biomedical

Abstract—A study of the global healthcare trends shows that sensors. Then, conclusions are given in section IV.
more people need health care across different ages and nations
of the World. Therefore, there is a rapid growth and expansion
of Healthcare Industry globally. This has led to increased
II. BIOMEDICAL SENSORS
demand on advanced biomedical sensors and devices for
diagnosis, monitoring, treatment and care. This paper provides
an overview of some recent developments in optical biomedical Biomedical sensors are devices used to safely measure
sensing technology. In this paper, the types, uses and unique biological, chemical and physiological parameters of the
benefits of novel optical sensors for biomedical applications are
body, and they provide quantitative, qualitative and reliable
presented.
results [4]. They are life-saving devices that can simply
Index Terms—biomedical sensors, health, optical fiber acquire and process physiological information [3].
sensors Biomedical sensors are highly demanded because they are
usually small, smart, reliable, selective, sensitive,
biocompatible, fast, robust, appropriate for batch
I. INTRODUCTION fabrication, and remotely controllable in nature [4]-[5].

A N individual’s state of health is crucial in ascertaining They have the unique ability to select one parameter without
his or her well-being and productivity in life [1]. WHO interfering with other parameters. Types of biomedical
defines health as, “a state of complete physical, mental and sensors include, direct/indirect, contact/remote,
social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or invasive/noninvasive, real-time/static, and sense/actuate [6].
infirmity” [2]. Recent health challenges have led to depths Each biomedical sensor consists of a sensing element with a
of research and scientific findings of ways to improve physical transducer that converts a measurand into an output
performances of biomedical sensing capabilities, and signal [7]-[8]. Fig 1 shows a basic biomedical
innovate more accurate biomedical sensors [3]. Advances in instrumentation system.
this technology provide detailed information about a
patient’s state of health, which helps for diagnosis and
treatment. The availability of smart biomedical devices for
monitoring an individual’s health status continuously and
even real-time, has led to numerous benefits to the
Healthcare providers and the patients as well [3]. These
devices can capture the biochemical, bioelectric,
biomechanical, bioacoustics, and bio-optical signals of the
body.
There is a growing need for Minimally Invasive Surgery
(MIS), Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery (MIRS), optical
fiber lasers, detection of infectious diseases, development of
drugs and vaccines, and automation of biomedical devices.
MIRS is a growing trend in the medical field and it is
attractive to patients and surgeons because of its reduction
of trauma, and reduced blood transfusions (due to low loss
of blood) [4]. Fig. 1. Basic biomedical instrumentation system
This paper is organized as follows: Section II gives an
overview of biomedical sensors. Section III discusses the
integration of optical fiber sensors for biomedical Due to advent of wearable technology, some biomedical
sensors or devices are been used as wearables for
Manuscript received March 21, 2016; revised April 15, 2016. continuous monitoring, which have greatly advanced the
T. O. Takpor and O. E. Agboje are with is with Electrical and medical field. Also, recent trends in the microelectronics
Information Engineering Department, Covenant University, 112233 Ota,
Nigeria;_-(phone:_-+234-816-892-2697;_-email:_- industry with improved signal-processing techniques have
temitope.takpor@covenantuniversity.edu.ng). increased the production of accurate and reliable novel
biomedical sensors [7].

ISBN: 978-988-19253-0-5 WCE 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2016 Vol I
WCE 2016, June 29 - July 1, 2016, London, U.K.

There is a continuous demand on biomedical sensors due --Radiation dosimeters in sterilization of medical
to the increase in the use of medical devices for quality supplies and radiation therapies.
health care. Biomedical sensors are currently widely used to --Imaging purposes in OCT.
measure or monitor vital parameters such as body
temperature, heart rate, blood velocity, blood pressure,
A. Novel Optical Biomedical Sensors
breathing rhythm, oxygen saturation, blood micronutrient
level, sleep distortion, and daily exercise activities [3]-[7]. The following 17 novel optical biomedical devices are
Furthermore, they are used for surgeries, therapeutic presented below with their specific applications:
purposes, telemedicine purposes, and accurate diagnosis (of --Fiber Optic Blood Gas Sensor, measures blood gases
cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other deadly diseases. and pH [4].
Various biomedical sensors help to prevent and diagnose --Optical System for Non-Invasive Haemodynamic
diseases with minimally invasive or non-invasive Monitoring, this optical system measures standard pulse
techniques, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), X- oximeter parameters with other vital parameters for a proper
ray imaging, CT (Computed Tomography) scan, Ultrasonic diagnosis of the state of a patient’s cardiovascular system
imaging, Optical Coherent Tomography (OCT), Endoscopy, [11]. It has been estimated that 30% of global death is due
and Spectroscopy [3]. to cardiovascular diseases [13].
--Optical Fiber NIR (Near-Infrared) Oxymeter,
determines hemoglobin concentration and blood oxygen
III. OPTICAL FIBER SENSORS FOR BIOMEDICAL saturation [4].
APPLICATIONS --Optical Fiber NIR Spectroscopy (NIRS).
--Fiber Optic Force Sensing in Ablation Catheter.
--Optical Fiber ECG and EEG Sensor, a mini-fiber
It is important to know that optical fiber was originally
optic electric field sensor detects Electrocardiography
proposed for medical endoscopic purposes before they were
(ECG) signals and Electro-encephalogtraphy (EEG) signals.
used for telecommunication applications [9]. Advances in
--Optical Fiber Pressure Sensor For Monitoring Lung
biomedical field have led to the integration of various
And Bladder Pressure [11].
biomedical sensing technologies such as electrochemical,
--Fiber Optic Immunosensor, for drug sensing and
optical, electronics, mechanics, and acoustic wave sensing
blood protein sensing.
technologies [7]-[10]. This paper focuses on the optical
--Optical Fiber Radiation Dosimetry, for monitoring
biomedical sensing technology, which has greatly enhanced
low dose ionising radiation (in radiotherapy) and high dose
health care processes and deliveries.
ionizing radiation (in sterilization of medical supplies) [11].
Biomedical Sensing occurs in the cells, tissues and organs
--Three-axis Optical Shear Sensor, measures shear
of the body. Optical sensing technology involves
(friction) stress for applications such as robot hands and
microscopy and spectroscopy techniques, which help to
skin, and prosthetic sockets [14]. In biomedical field,
observe wide range of objects from organs and cells [4].
artificial devices (prosthesis) have been developed to bring
The advantages of optical biomedical sensors over other
comfort to patient that have one of their body parts (like a
sensing technologies is due to the following fundamental
limb or hand) missing.
characteristics [4]-[11]:
--Optical Fiber Sensor for Breathing Measurement, this
--Small size.
non-invasive sensor in [15] was proposed for monitoring
--Light weight.
breathing rate, body movement and Ballistocardiogram
--Non-electrical connection to patients.
(BCG) signals.
--Ability to monitor numerous measurands.
--An Extrinsic Optical Fiber X-ray Dosimeter, is to
--Biocompatibility with MRI and CT.
measure low doses of ionizing X-ray radiation in
--Increased use of lasers and Fiber OCT probes, for
radiotherapy applications [16].
optical imaging.
--Distributed Feedback Laser Biosensors (DFBLB),
--Usage in high EM (Electromagnetic) or RF
was discussed in [5], as an analytic procedure for detecting
(Radiofrequency) environments, due to its high immunity to
cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF ).
EM interferences.
--DNA Hybrid Optical Fiber Probe, this probe was
--Minimally invasive or non-invasive technique,
described in [17] and it is used for detecting DNA.
because of the inherent penetrating properties of light
--Optical Pulse Pressure Sensor, is used for monitoring
signal.
blood volume pulse through the skin, thus enabling the
--Fast speed since light is used.
measurement of pulse pressure [18].
An Optical fiber sensor consists of a light source, optical
--Dosage Form Analysis Optical Probe, is used in the
fiber, photo detector, and external transducer [12]. It emits,
pharmaceutical industry for drug quality control [19].
receives, and converts light rays into electrical signals. They
are used for biomedical sensing applications such as [4]-
[11]:
IV. CONCLUSION
--Illumination purposes in surgical operations or
dental treatments, an example is a gage optic fiber probe. This paper has studied new trends in biomedical sensing
--Laser deliveries in phototherapy, ablation, surgery technology with focus on optical sensing. Different novel
and skin treatments. and emergent optical biomedical sensors have been

ISBN: 978-988-19253-0-5 WCE 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)
Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2016 Vol I
WCE 2016, June 29 - July 1, 2016, London, U.K.

reviewed in this study. Optical sensors have greatly for biomedical applications.” Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, vol. 73, issue. 1, pp. 1–9, Feb. 2011.
enhanced diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of diseases.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
All glory to GOD for the wisdom and strength given to
write this paper.

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ISBN: 978-988-19253-0-5 WCE 2016

ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online)