Effect of glucose concentration in a model light-scattering suspension on propagation of ultrashort laser pulses

The propagation of laser pulses in the 2% aqueous solution of intralipid – a suspension of lipid particles with optical properties close to those of the human skin, is numerically simulated at different glucose concentrations. The temporal profiles of 820-nm laser pulses diffusely backscattered from a flat, 2-mm thick solution layer are simulated. The laser pulse profiles are detected by fibreoptic detectors of diameter 0.3 mm with the numerical apertures 0.19, 0.29, and 0.39. It is shown that this method can be used to detect changes in the glucose level in the physiological concentration range (100–500 mg dL^-1) by monitoring variations in the peak intensity and area of the laser pulse temporal profile (pulse energy).