Abstract

Diabetes is a common chronic disease in mostly all countries worldwide. The most commonly used method to
measure glucose level in blood is an invasive method which is painful, expensive and danger in spreading
infectious diseases. Over a long term, the invasive method results in damage of finger tissues. As an alternative,
the noninvasive method can be used which facilitates frequent testing, relieves pain and discomfort caused by
frequent finger pricks. A noninvasive method of glucose level measurement is proposed in this project.

There are multiple methods for the same. Non-invasive methods such as optical methods, microwave waves, epic
health apps, freestyle libre patches, body-sweats, teardrop and saliva measurements. Optical methods include:
Infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, photoacoustic, fluorescence, polarimetric, and so on.

In this method we look into using infrared light to measure the blood sugar levels.The variation in the intensity
of NIR light received from the photo detector after passing through the finger is used to determine the glucose
level of blood. The measured glucose level is displayed in LCD display.
Literature Survey

[1]. Non-invasive blood glucose measurement by near infrared spectroscopy: Machine drift, time drift and
physiological effect. - Simon C.H. Lam , Joanne W.Y. Chung, K.L. Fan and Thomas K.S. Wong School of
Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.

A non-invasive approach is the painless method for blood glucose measurement. However, no noninvasive blood
glucose meter currently in use has provided consistently reliable results, due to many interfering non-specific
physiological signals during the measurement (especially for long-term measurement). According to Danzer et al.
[3], the long-term unreliability might be due to the physiological differences amongst subjects and time drift factors.
Thus, diabetic patients still need to rely on painful finger-prick sampling for daily glucose measurement.

[2]. Blood glucose level monitoring by noninvasive method using near infra red sensor-
- P.Daarani 1 & A.Kavithamani 2
When a light ray passes through biological tissues, it is both absorbed and scattered by the tissues. Light scattering
occurs in biological tissues due to the mismatch between the refraction index of extracellular fluid and the
membranes of the cells. Variation in glucose level in blood affects the intensity of light scattered from the tissue.

[3]. Smartphone Based Non-Invasive Glucose Monitoring

- Sathiyanarayanan #1, Sivagnanam.R #2 , Smrithisri.V.K #3 , Dr.V.Thulasi Bai #4 , 1,2,3 ECE 4 th
Year, 4 Head of the Department, Department of ECE, KCG College of Technology, Chennai-97, India

Our design uses the NIR spectroscopy techniques to detect the concentration of glucose level in blood through
non-invasive. A sensor clip giving nearinfrared radiation of 950nm wavelength is used as the transmitter, which
penetrates through tissue and attenuates the light signal. And the attenuated signal is perceived by the photodiode,
of wavelength 900nm placed in the opposite side of the sensing clip. The sensor part is placed at earlobe
for blood glucose level detection. The attenuated rays are converted to respective voltages by the photodiode. In
which, the analog signal received from the photodiode is converted into digital signal by the Arduino
(Microcontroller) using the analog port.
 1. INTRODUCTION

Diabetes and its complications impose significant economic consequences on individuals, families, health systems,
and countries. The annual economic cost of diabetes in 2007 in the United States was estimated to be $174 billion,
attributed to both direct and indirect expenditures.1

Research has shown conclusively that improved glucose control reduces the long-term complications of
diabetes.2,3 According to the American Diabetes Association, self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has a
positive impact on the outcome of therapy with insulin, oral agents, and medical nutrition.4 Moreover, SMBG is
useful in generating knowledge about individual glucose profiles, as well as knowledge about the effects of one's
habits, including exercise and food intake on that profile, thus helping to achieve specific glycemic
goals.5,6 However, the inconvenience, expense, pain, and complexity involved in SMBG lead to its underutilization,
mainly in people with type 2 diabetes. Availability of an accurate, painless, and easy-to-operate device will
encourage more frequent testing, leading to tighter glucose control and a delaying/decreasing of long-term
complications and their associated health care costs.

Monitoring of glucose level of blood is important to avoid complications of diabetic and damage to organs. Since
invasive method of glucose level measurement is painful and causes damage to nerves, non-invasive method is used
as an alternative. Noninvasive glucose monitoring method in which the NIR is sent through the fingertip and over-
systolic pressure is applied to the finger to stop the flow of blood for a period of 30 seconds. The response of the
optical signal thus obtained is studied by performing the FFT analysis using the spectrum analyzer. Three different
probes (arm, finger, ear lobe) were designed to measure blood glucose using 940 nm NIR LED.Placed emitter and
detector on the same side of the finger to detect the reflected signals properly, hence a phase shift of 180˚ occurs
between transmitted and reflected signals.
 2. METHODOLOGY

PRINCIPLE OF BLOOD GLUCOSE MEASUREMENT

When a light ray passes through biological tissues, it is both absorbed and scattered by the tissues. Light scattering
occurs in biological tissues due to the mismatch between the refraction index of extracellular fluid and the
membranes of the cells.Variation in glucose level in blood affects the intensity of light scattered from the tissue.
Beer-Lambert Law plays a major role in absorbance measurement which states that absorbance of light through any
solution is in proportion with the concentration of the solution and the length path traveled by the light ray . Light
transport theory describes light attenuation as

I=I0L

where, I is the reflected light intensity,

I0 is the incident light intensity and

L is the optical path length inside the tissue.

Attenuation of light inside the tissue depends on the coefficient known as effective attenuation coefficient (µeff),
which is given by

µeff = [3µs (µs + µs')] ½ ………………………………………….(2)

The absorption coefficient (µa) is defined as the probability of absorption of photons inside the tissue per unit path
length,.Which is given by

µa = 2.303∈C

∈ is the molar extinction coefficient,

C is the tissue chromospheres concentration and the reduced scattering coefficient (µs) is given by equation

4.µs=µs(1-g) (4)
where g is anisotropy.
µs is scattering coefficient.
Hence from the equations (1) to (4) it can be concluded that µa depends on the glucose concentration in blood. Thus
with the increase in blood glucose concentration, the scattering property of blood decreases.
Design

The circuit diagram of the designed system consists of filtering stage and amplification stage as shown in figure 3.
The electrical current obtained from the photo detector is converted into the voltage by placing the load resistance
R4= 50kΩ at the anode side of photodiode. The cut-off frequency of high pass filter and low pass filter are designed
as 2.34 Hz and 1.59 kHz respectively.

Cut off frequency of LPF = 1/ (2πR1C1) = 1/ [2π (1*103) (100*10-9)] = 1.59 kHz

Cut off frequency of HPF = 1/ (2πR2C2) = 1/ [2π (68*103) (1*10-6)] = 2.34Hz

Voltage gain = 1 + (Rf / Rin) = 1 + [(680*103)/ (68*103)] = 101

The amplified output voltage is connected to analog pin A0 of Arduino due microcontroller for converting the
analog signal into digital values. This digital value corresponds to the glucose level. From this digital value, the
actual glucose level is determined using polynomial regression equation. This equation is formed from the glucose
levels obtained from the laboratory using invasive measurement.
The polynomial equation relating the analog voltage and the glucose level is computed by using regression tool and
shown below.

y = (8*10-5) x2 + 0.1873x + 46.131

where x and y are analog voltage (mV) and glucose level (mg/dl) respectively
 3. BLOCK DIAGRAM OF PROPOSED WORK

The proposed work is based on NIR optical technique. NIR light source of 940 nm wavelength is chosen because it
is suitable for measuring blood glucose concentration. The sensing unit consists of NIR emitter and NIR receiver
(photodetector) positioned on either side of the measurement site (fingertip).When the NIR light is propagated
through the fingertip in which it interacts with the glucose molecule, a part of NIR light gets absorbed depending on
the glucose concentration of blood and remaining part is passed through the finger tip. The amount of NIR light
passing through the fingertip depends on the amount of blood glucose concentration.

CURRENT TO
NIR FINGER TIP
VOLTAGE CONVERTER

AMPLIFIER NOISE FILTER

ARDUINO

GSM
DISPLAY
MODULE

The transmitted signal is detected by the photodetector. The output current of the photo detector is converted into
voltage signal and then it is filtered and amplified. This amplified signal is fed into Arduino microcontroller. The
inbuilt ADC block is used for converting the received analog signal to digital form. This digital signal is processed
by using second order regression analysis to predict the blood glucose value and the blood glucose value is
displayed on the LCD display.The same is sent to the regesterd mobile number via SMS.
 4. CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Below is the circuit for current to voltage converter. The ouput of which decides the glcose levels in th blood.It
consists of high frequeny filter,low frequency filter and receiver. The same is being shown in the circuit below.

Figure 1: CIRCUIT DIAGRAM FOR SENSOR RECEIVER

Figure 2: PCB FOR THE RECEIVER.

 5. PROGRAM FLOW CHART

START

Power up the NIR source

Place the measurement site in between the NIR

source and photodiode

Noise Filtering

Amplification

Convert output voltage of photodiode

to Digital values using inbuilt ADC
block

Determine Blood Glucose

Value

sugar level (0 - 70) mg/dl

Yes No

sugar level (70-135) mg/dl

Display
Sugar LOW Yes No
sugar level >135 mg/dl

Display Sugar Yes No

NORMAL

Display
Sugar HIGH

Send SMS

STOP
 6. COMPONENTS
1. Arduino

Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P (datasheet). It has 14 digital input/output pins
(of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator (CSTCE16M0V53-R0), a
USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the
microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery
to get started.. You can tinker with your Uno without worrying too much about doing something wrong, worst case
scenario you can replace the chip for a few dollars and start over again.

"Uno" means one in Italian and was chosen to mark the release of Arduino Software (IDE) 1.0. The Uno board and
version 1.0 of Arduino Software (IDE) were the reference versions of Arduino, now evolved to newer releases. The
Uno board is the first in a series of USB Arduino boards, and the reference model for the Arduino platform; for an
extensive list of current, past or outdated boards see the Arduino index of boards.
Technical Specifications

Microcontroller ATmega328P
Operating Voltage 5V
Input Voltage
7-12V
(recommended)
Input Voltage (limit) 6-20V
Digital I/O Pins 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)
PWM Digital I/O Pins 6
Analog Input Pins 6
DC Current per I/O Pin 20 mA
DC Current for 3.3V Pin 50 mA
32 KB (ATmega328P) of which 0.5 KB used by
Flash Memory
bootloader
SRAM 2 KB (ATmega328P)
EEPROM 1 KB (ATmega328P)
Clock Speed 16 MHz
LED_BUILTIN 13
Length 68.6 mm
Width 53.4 mm
Weight 25 g

 
 2. Display

LCD modules are very commonly used in most embedded projects, the reason being its cheap price, availability and
programmer friendly. Most of us would have come across these displays in our day to day life, either at PCO’s or
calculators. The appearance and the pinouts have already been visualized above now let us get a bit technical.

16×2 LCD is named so because; it has 16 Columns and 2 Rows. There are a lot of combinations available like, 8×1,
8×2, 10×2, 16×1, etc. but the most used one is the 16×2 LCD. So, it will have (16×2=32) 32 characters in total and
each character will be made of 5×8 Pixel Dots.

Features of 16×2 LCD module

 Operating Voltage is 4.7V to 5.3V

 Current consumption is 1mA without backlight
 Alphanumeric LCD display module, meaning can display alphabets and numbers
 Consists of two rows and each row can print 16 characters.
 Each character is build by a 5×8 pixel box
 Can work on both 8-bit and 4-bit mode
 It can also display any custom generated characters
 Available in Green and Blue Backlight
Arduino to display wiring.

PIN Details
 3. GSM Module

The SIM800A Quad-Band GSM/GPRS Module with RS232 Interface is a complete Quad-band GSM/GPRS
solution in an LGA(Land grid array) type which can be embedded in the customer applications. SIM800A support
Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, it can transmit Voice, SMS and data information with low power
consumption.

With a tiny size of 100 x 53 x 15 mm, it can fit into slim and compact demands of custom design. Featuring and
Embedded AT, it allows total cost savings and fast time-to-market for customer applications.

The SIM800A modem has a SIM800A GSM chip and RS232 interface while enables easy connection with the
computer or laptop using the USB to the Serial connector or to the micro-controller using the RS232 to TTL
converter. Once you connect the SIM800A modem using the USB to RS232 connector, you need to find the correct
COM port from the Device Manager of the USB to Serial Adapter.

Application : 

1. Remote Data Monitor and Control.

2. Water, gas and oil flow metering.
3. AMR (automatic meter reading).
4. Power station monitoring and control.
5. Remote POS (point of sale) terminals.
6. Traffic signals monitor and control.
7. Fleet management.
8. Power distribution network supervision.
9. Central heating system supervision.
10. Weather station data transmission.
11. Hydro-logic data acquisition.
12. Vending machine.
13. Traffic info guidance.
14. Parking meter and Taxi Monitor.
15. Telecom equipment supervision (Mobile base station, microwave or optical relay station).
 Features :

1. Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz.
2. GPRS class 2/10.
3. Control via AT commands (3GPP TS 27.007, 27.005 and SIMCOM enhanced AT command set).
4. High-Quality Product (Not hobby grade).
5. 5V interface for direct communication with MCU kit.
6. Configurable baud rate.
7. Built-in SIM Card holder.
8. Built-in Network Status LED.
9. Inbuilt Powerful TCP/IP protocol stack for internet data transfer over GPRS.
10. Low power.

Specifications

Input Voltage (V) 9 to 12

Operating Temperature (°C) -40 to +90
Length (mm) 100
Width (mm) 53
Height (mm) 15
Weight (gm) 58
Shipment Weight 0.135 kg
Shipment Dimensions 11 × 6.5 × 2.5 cm
 MP LM-358

The LM358 IC is a great, low power and easy to use dual channel op-amp IC. It is designed and introduced by
national semiconductor. It consists of two internally frequency compensated, high gain, independent op-amps. This
IC is designed for specially to operate from a single power supply over a wide range of voltages. The LM358 IC is
available in a chip sized package and applications of this op amp include conventional op-amp circuits, DC gain
blocks and transducer amplifiers. LM358 IC is a good, standard operational amplifier and it is suitable for your
needs. It can handle 3-32V DC supply & source up to 20mA per channel. 

LM358 Dual Op-Amp IC features and specifications

 Integrated with two Op-Amps in a single package

 Wide power supply Range

1. Singe supply – 3V to 32V

2. Dual supply – ±1.5V to ±16V

 Low Supply current – 700uA

 Single supply for two op-amps enables reliable operation
 Short circuit protected outputs
 Operating ambient temperature – 0˚C to 70˚C
 Soldering pin temperature – 260 ˚C (for 10 seconds – prescribed)
 Available packages: TO-99, CDIP, DSBGA, SOIC, PDIP,  DSBGA
Supply Connections

Pin Configuration

Pin Pin Name Description

Number

1 OUTPUT1 Output of Op-Amp 1

2 INPUT1- Inverting Input of Op-Amp 1

3 INPUT1+ Non-Inverting Input of Op-Amp 1

4 VEE, GND Ground or Negative Supply Voltage

5 INPUT2+ Non-Inverting Input of Op-Amp 2

6 INPUT2- Inverting Input of Op-Amp 2

7 OUTPUT2 Output of Op-Amp 2

8 VCC Positive Supply Voltage

 Op amp Structure

Applications:

 Transducer Amplifiers
 Conventional op-amp circuits
 Integrator, Differentiator, Summer, adder, Voltage follower, etc.,
 DC gain blocks, Digital multi-meters, Oscilloscopes
 Comparators (Loop control & regulation)
 4. Photo Diodes

It is a form of light-weight sensor that converts light energy into electrical voltage or current. Photodiode is a type of
semi conducting device with PN junction. Between the p (positive) and n (negative) layers, an intrinsic layer is
present. The photo diode accepts light energy as input to generate electric current.

It is also called as Photodetector, photo sensor or light detector. Photo diode operates in reverse bias condition i.e.
the p – side of the photodiode is connected with negative terminal of battery (or the power supply) and n – side to
the positive terminal of battery. Typical photodiode materials are Silicon, Germanium, Indium Gallium Arsenide
Phosphide and Indium gallium arsenide.

Internally, a photodiode has optical filters, built in lens and a surface area. When surface area of photodiode
increases, it results in more response time. Few photo diodes will look like Light Emitting Diode (LED). It has two
terminals as shown below. The smaller terminal acts as cathode and longer terminal acts as anode.
The symbol of the photodiode is similar to that of an LED but the arrows point inwards as opposed to outwards in
the LED. The following image shows the symbol of a photodiode.

Working

Generally, when a light is made to illuminate the PN junction, covalent bonds are ionized. This generates hole and
electron pairs. Photocurrents are produced due to generation of electron-hole pairs. Electron hole pairs are formed
when photons of energy more than 1.1eV hits the diode. When the photon enters the depletion region of diode, it hits
the atom with high energy. This results in release of electron from atom structure. After the electron release, free
electrons and hole are produced.

In general, an electron will have negative charge and holes will have a positive charge. The depletion energy will
have built in electric filed. Due to that electric filed, electron hole pairs moves away from the junction. Hence, holes
move to anode and electrons move to cathode to produce photo current.   The photon absorption intensity and
photon energy are directly proportional to each other. When energy of photos is less, the absorption will be more.
This entire process is known as Inner Photoelectric Effect.

Intrinsic Excitations and Extrinsic Excitations are the two methods via which the photon excitation happens. The
process of intrinsic excitation happens, when an electron in the valence band is excited by photon to conduction
band.
Modes of operation of a Photo Diode

a. Photovoltaic Mode

This is otherwise called as Zero Bias mode. When a photodiode operates low frequency applications and
ultra-level light applications, this mode is preferred. When photodiode is irradiated by flash of light, voltage is
produced. The voltage produced will be in very small dynamic range and it has a non-linear characteristic.
When photodiode is configured with OP-AMP in this mode, there will be a very less variation with
temperature.

b. Photoconductive Mode

In this mode, photodiode will act in reverse biased condition. Cathode will be positive and anode will be
negative. When the reverse voltage increases, the width of the depletion layer also increases. Due to this the
response time and junction capacitance will be reduced. Comparatively this mode of operation is fast and
produces electronic noise. Transimpedance amplifiers are used as preamplifiers for photodiodes. Modes of
Such amplifiers keep the voltage maintains to be constant to make photo diode operate in
the photoconductive mode.

Connecting a Photodiode in an
External Circuit
A photodiode operates in a circuit in reverse bias. Anode is connected to circuit ground and cathode to positive
supply voltage of the circuit. When illuminated by light, current flows from cathode to anode.

When photodiodes are used with external circuits, they are connected to a power source in the circuit. The amount of
current produced by a photodiode will be very small. This value of current will not be enough to drive an electronic
device. So when they are connected to an external power source, it delivers more current to the circuit. So, battery is
used as a power source. The battery source helps to increase the current value, which helps the external devices to
have a better perform.

Applications of Photodiode

 In simple day to day applications, photodiodes are used. The reason for their use is their linear response of
photodiode to a light illumination. When more amount of light falls on the sensor, it produces high amount of
current. The increase in current will be displayed on a galvanometer connected to the circuit.
 Photodiodes helps to provide an electric isolation with help of opto-couplers. When two isolated circuits
are illuminated by light, opto-couplers is used to couple the circuit optically. But the circuits will be isolated
electrically. Compared to conventional devices, opto-couplers are fast.
 Photodiodes are applied in safety electronics like fire and smoke detectors. It is also used in TV units.
 When utilized in cameras, they act as photo sensors. It is used in scintillators charge-coupled devices,
photoconductors, and photomultiplier tubes.
 Photodiodes are also widely used in numerous medical applications like instruments to analyze samples,
detectors for computed tomography and also used in blood gas monitors.

 
7. WORKING PRINCIPLE.

The Working of the glucometer completely depends on the data received from the NIR sensor. The data is fed
to Arduino, the arduino does the rest.

In depth steps.

1. NIR sensor is placed on the fingers of the subject.

2. The sensor emits the infrared light.
3. The light emitted passes through the fingers and gets scattered.
4. The amount of scattered light decides the blood glucose level.
5. The scattered light is received by the sensor i.e. photo diode.
6. The photo diode receives the infrared light and converts into electrical pulses.
7. The electrical pulses are in from of current of certain mili amps,
8. The current value is converted to voltage pulses by op-amp.
9. The op-amp amplifies the pulses. These pulse are fed to arduino.
10. Arduino is programmed so as to convert the received voltages in terms of glucose levels.
11. This is done using the formula y = (8*10-5) x2 + 0.1873x + 46.131. where y is sugar levels an x is
voltage.
12. The values are calculated for 30 seconds. The total value is averaged and a value is calculated.
13. The calculated value is displayed and the same is sent to the user via SMS.
14. To calibrate it , multiple samples are taken and calibrated to an error of 10%.
8. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

Advantages.
 Does not require a blood samples to calculate the blood.
 Very portable, can be carried to anywhere.
 Real-time values can be monitored.
 Helps in deciding the insulin levels required to be injected in case of high sugar level.
 The risk of infection is reduced that is caused in invasive methods.
 The glucose level in the blood which is obtained from the photo detector is displayed in both the
LCD display and mobile.
 The values obtained are stored in the mobile for future reference.
 Testing can be done at homes without the requirement of any special tools.

Disadvantages
 Since it is an electronic device timely calibration of the device is mandatory.
 Since the technology is in developing phase, we cannot rely completely on the same.
 Cannot be used for critical cases where the glucose levels decide everything.
 Does require a power source. Thus battery replacement can be an added task.
9. RESULTS.
10. CONCLUSION.
Invasive method of glucose measurement is painful, costly and discomfort. It also has a risk of
infection and not used for continuous monitoring. In order to overcome the above disadvantages, a
noninvasive method for blood glucose measurement using near-infrared LED is proposed in this paper. The
glucose level in the blood which is obtained from the photo detector is displayed in both the LCD
display and the developed mobile app. . This can be used for monitoring blood glucose level of the
patients in the home as well as health care centers.
 11. REFERENCES.

[1]. Non-invasive blood glucose measurement by near infrared spectroscopy: Machine drift, time drift and
physiological effect. - Simon C.H. Lam , Joanne W.Y. Chung, K.L. Fan and Thomas K.S. Wong School of
Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.

[2]. Blood glucose level monitoring by noninvasive method using near infra red sensor-
- P.Daarani 1 & A.Kavithamani 2

[3]. Smartphone Based Non-Invasive Glucose Monitoring

- Sathiyanarayanan #1, Sivagnanam.R #2 , Smrithisri.V.K #3 , Dr.V.Thulasi Bai #4 , 1,2,3 ECE 4 th
Year, 4 Head of the Department, Department of ECE, KCG College of Technology, Chennai-97, India