Patent ID: 8729502

Claim:
A system configured for concurrently analyzing a sample for a presence of a plurality of analytes, comprising: a controllable optical source, configured to concurrently emit a plurality of independently controlled components of light having different optical characteristics; a control, configured to cause the controllable optical source to concurrently emit a plurality of respectively different amplitude modulated temporal patterns of the components of the light having different optical characteristics; a first polarizer having a first polarization, disposed within an optic path of an output of the controllable optical source; a sample space configured to contain the sample, illuminated by polarized light from the first polarizer; a second polarizer, having a second polarization different with respect to the first polarization, configured to receive light from the sample space, and to substantially pass scattered light from the sample space and to block light from the first polarizer having the first polarization; a sensor, configured to produce a signal corresponding to the scattered light passing through the second polarizer; and a lock-in detector, configured to receive an output from the sensor, and to coherently detect a respective signal component represented in the signal corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of independently controlled components, synchronized with the respectively different amplitude modulated pattern of the respective independently controlled component of the light, isolated from signal components corresponding to the other respective components of the light having respectively different amplitude modulated temporal patterns; and at least one processor configured to receive an output of the lock-in detector and to determine a concentration of at least one analyte in the sample based on at least a respective coherently detected signal component.