Patent ID: 8406839

Claim:
A device for measuring a concentration of one or more than one compound within one or more than one tissue compartment of a body part of a subject, and a value of oxygen saturation of blood in the part of the subject, comprising: a polychromatic light source that emits a wavelength of light in the visible red spectrum, a wavelength of light in the infrared spectrum and a broad spectrum of light in the near infrared range from 650 nm to 2800 nm, the light source being operatively coupled to a power source; a receptor for receiving the part of the subject and comprising one or more than one input in operable association with the polychromatic light source, one or more than one output in operable association with a dispersing element, the one or more than one input and the one or more than one output defining a light path within the receptor, wherein, the part of the subject when received by the receptor is placed within the light path; a pulse detector in operable association with the receptor for detecting a pulse within the part of the subject; and a detector for measuring transmitted or reflected light received from the dispersing element, the detector operatively coupled to a processing system; the processing system configured to determine the concentration of the one or more than one compound in each of the one or more than one tissue compartments of the body part based on a calibration algorithm that accounts for the concentration of the one or more than one compound within one or more than one compartment, and the value of oxygen saturation of blood in the part, the processing system further configured to use measurements taken immediately subsequent to the detection of a pulse and prior to a next pulse so that all measurements upon which the concentration is based are taken between pulses.