Methods and devices for non-invasively measuring quantitative information of substances in living organisms

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods of determining the amount of a substance in a living organism. In one embodiment, the method comprises: applying an electrical signature signal to the living organism, wherein the electrical signature signal corresponds to a predetermined amount of the substance; measuring the response of the living organism to the applied signature signal; and determining whether an elevated response has resulted from applying the electrical signature signal, if so, then determining the amount of the substance in the living organism from the predetermined amount of the substance.

1 . A method of determining a substance in a living organism, the method comprising: 
 (a) providing a plurality of electrical signature signals, wherein each electrical signature signal corresponds to a predetermined indicator of the substance;    (b) applying an electrical signature signal from the plurality of electrical signals to at least two electrodes;    (c) measure a first change in impedance over time resulting from the application of the electrical signature signal to produce a first set of measured data;    (d) applying the electrical signature signal from the plurality of electrical signals to the two electrodes;    (e) measure a second change in impedance over time resulting from the application of the second electrical signature signal to produce a second set of measured data;    (f) determining whether the first set of measure data and the second set of measured data have converged, if yes, then storing the first set and second set as a candidate data set;    (g) determining whether all of the electrical signature signals in the plurality of electrical signature signals have been applied, if no, then selecting a new electrical signature signal and repeating steps (b) through (g);    if yes, then: 
 selecting the candidate set having a maximum level of convergence, and  
 determining the amount of substance from the electrical signature signal producing the selected candidate set.  
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 measuring the electrical impedance between the electrodes to obtain a signal indicating the electrical impedance,    amplifying the signal indicating the electrical impedance, determining whether the amplified signal is within a predetermined criteria, if not, then: 
 calculating a gain factor,  
 adjusting an amplifier using the gain factor; and  
 re-measuring the electrical impedance between the electrodes to obtain a signal indicating the electrical impedance.  
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising clearing residual voltage between the at least two electrodes.  
     
     
         4 . A method of determining a substance in a living organism, the method comprising: 
 applying an electrical signature signal to the living organism, wherein the electrical signature signal corresponds to a predetermined amount of the substance;    measuring the response of the living organism to the applied electrical signature signal; and    determining whether an elevated response has resulted from applying the electrical signature signal, if so, then determining the amount of the substance in the living organism from the predetermined amount of the substance.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising providing a plurality of electrical signal signals, wherein each electrical signature signal in the plurality of electrical signature signals corresponds to a different predetermined amount of the substance.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the plurality of electrical signature signals correspond to a predetermined amount of the substance ranging from a low amount of the substance to a high amount of the substance.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the method of  claim 1  is repeated for each electrical signature signal in the plurality of electrical signature signals.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the substance is glucose.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the measuring the response comprises measuring the impedance between two different points on a skin of the living organism.  
     
     
         10 . The method of claims  4 , wherein the measuring the response comprises: 
 measuring a plurality of impedance values over time resulting from applying the electrical signature signal corresponding to a predetermined amount of the substance to establish a first data set of measure data values;    reapplying the electrical signature signal to the living organism; and    measuring a plurality of impedance values over time resulting from applying the electrical signature signal to establish a second data set of measure data values.    
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising clearing any residual charges between the points on the skin.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the determining comprises: 
 determining whether there is convergence between the first and second data sets; if there is convergence between the first and second data sets, then storing the data sets as a candidate set.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising: 
 examining each stored candidate set to determine the candidate set having the largest convergence, and    determining the amount of the substance to be the electric signature signal that corresponds to the candidate set having the largest convergence.