Noninvasive Blood and Tissue Analysis: Raman Spectroscopy, One Perspective for Monitoring of Glucose and Beyond

Noninvasive in vivo blood and tissue analysis remains a challenge to medical technology epitomized by the ongoing quest to replace fingerstick self-monitoring of blood glucose. Recent developments warrant comment on near-term prospects for using Raman spectroscopy to meet that challenge. These developments combined with 20 years of experimentation with noninvasive blood and tissue analysis suggest that it may be possible and practical to perform noninvasive in vivo glucose analysis with improvements in (1) the enabling technologies for making Raman measurements and (2) an underlying anatomical-physiological model of how in vivo spectroscopic measurements are made and interpreted. We review the substantial progress made toward meeting the challenge and the personal, public health, and economic implications of these ongoing efforts.