System and method for detecting a health condition using an optical sensor

1. A disposable patch, comprising:

an attachment mechanism configured for attaching to skin tissue of a user; and

a biosensor for detecting a health condition, including:

a sensor circuit configured to:

obtain at least a first spectral response of light from the skin tissue of a user, wherein the light includes a first wavelength with a high absorption coefficient of nitric oxide (NO);

obtain at least a second spectral response of light from the skin tissue of the user, wherein the light includes a second wavelength; and

one or more processing circuits configured to:

obtain an alternating current (AC) component of the first spectral response due to pulsating blood flow;

obtain an AC component of the second spectral response due to the pulsating blood flow;

obtain a measurement using a ratio of the AC component of the first spectral response and the AC component of the second spectral response;

compare the measurement to one or more predetermined thresholds, wherein the one or more predetermined thresholds are indicative of one or more of: hyperglycemia, diabetes or hypoglycemia;

determine a health condition based on the comparison to the one or more predetermined thresholds, wherein the health condition includes at least one of: hyperglycemia, diabetes or hypoglycemia; and

generate an alert of the health condition in response to the comparison.

2. The biosensor of claim 1 , wherein the attachment mechanism configured for attaching to the skin tissue of the user includes an adhesive portion on a side of the disposable patch.

3. The biosensor of claim 2 , wherein the disposable patch comprises at least one of:

a visible indicator of the health alert; or

an audible indicator for providing an audible indication of the health alert.

4. The biosensor of claim 2 , wherein the attachment mechanism is configured for attaching to the skin tissue of the user on at least one of: a forehead, arm, wrist, abdominal area, chest, leg, hand, or arm.

5. The biosensor of claim 1 , wherein the sensor circuit is further configured to:

obtain the second spectral response of light reflected from the skin tissue of the patient, wherein the light includes a second wavelength of approximately 660 nm or greater.

6. The biosensor of claim 1 , further comprising:

a memory configured with the one or more predetermined thresholds, wherein at least one of the predetermined thresholds is a value indicative of a level of NO in the pulsating blood flow.

7. The biosensor of claim 6 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

obtain a concentration level of NO using the measurement and a calibration database, wherein the calibration database is used to correlate the measurement and the concentration level of NO.

8. The biosensor of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

obtain a relative pain level using the concentration level of NO.

9. The biosensor of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

obtain a measurement of heart rate and respiration rate using the first spectral response of light, wherein the first wavelength is in an ultraviolet (UV) range.

10. The biosensor of claim 9 , further comprising:

a temperature sensor configured to measure a skin temperature; and

wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

compare the skin temperature to one or more predetermined thresholds; and

activate a health alert indicator when the skin temperature exceeds the one or more predetermined thresholds.

11. A biosensor, comprising:

a memory configured with one or more predetermined thresholds, wherein at least one of the predetermined thresholds is a value indicative of a level of NO in pulsating blood flow;

a sensor circuit configured to:

obtain at least a first spectral response for light with a first wavelength in an ultraviolet (UV) range from skin tissue of a patient; and

obtain at least a second spectral response for light detected around a second wavelength reflected from the skin tissue of the patient; and

a processing circuit configured to:

obtain a measurement in pulsating blood flow using the first spectral response and the second spectral response, wherein the measurement includes a ratio of an AC component of the first spectral response due to pulsating blood flow and an AC component of the second spectral response due to the pulsating blood flow;

compare the measurement to the one or more predetermined thresholds, wherein the comparison indicates a risk of a health condition, wherein the health condition includes one or more of: hyperglycemia, diabetes or hypoglycemia;

determine the risk of the health condition based on the comparison to the one or more predetermined thresholds; and

generate a health alert of the risk of the health condition based on the comparison.

12. The biosensor of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:

determine a concentration level of nitric oxide (NO) in pulsating blood flow using the measurement;

compare the concentration level of NO to one or more predetermined thresholds; and

generate the health alert based on the comparison of the concentration level of NO to the one or more predetermined thresholds.

13. The biosensor of claim 12 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to obtain a relative pain level using the concentration level of NO.

14. The biosensor of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to obtain a measurement of heart rate using the first spectral response for light with the first wavelength in the UV range; and

wherein the biosensor further comprises a heart rate indicator.

15. The biosensor of claim 13 , wherein the wavelength in the UV range is 410 nm or less.

16. A method for detecting a health condition, comprises:

obtaining at least a first spectral response of light from the skin tissue of a user, wherein the light includes a first wavelength with a high absorption coefficient of nitric oxide (NO);

obtaining at least a second spectral response of light from the skin tissue of the user, wherein the light includes a second wavelength;

obtaining an alternating current (AC) component of the first spectral response due to pulsating blood flow;

obtaining an AC component of the second spectral response due to the pulsating blood flow;

obtaining a measurement for a substance in the pulsating blood flow using a ratio of the AC component of the first spectral response and the AC component of the second spectral response;

comparing the measurement to one or more predetermined thresholds, wherein the one or more predetermined thresholds are indicative of one or more of: hyperglycemia, diabetes or hypoglycemia;

determining a health condition based on the comparison to the one or more predetermined thresholds, wherein the health condition includes one or more of: hyperglycemia, diabetes or hypoglycemia; and

generating an alert in response to determining the health condition.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the one or more predetermined thresholds includes an R value indicative of a risk of one or more of: hyperglycemia, diabetes or hypoglycemia.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the obtaining the measurement for the substance in the pulsating blood flow comprises:

obtaining a measurement of nitric oxide (NO) in the pulsating blood flow using the first spectral response and the second spectral response.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to obtain a relative pain level using the measurement of NO.