Help Needed! Near Infrared Intensity Sensor for Prostate Cancer Detection

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello,

I am part of a synthetic biology team whose goal is to modify immune cells to respond to an incident wavelength of 670-702nm and emit a near-infrared wavelength of 650-900nm(to be determined).

My goal is to create a sensor that will be able to detect this emitted wavelength through human tissue and convert the data from the sensor to the si unit lux of intensity. The sensor should be as accurate as possible.

Everything I know is from simple googling so any help would be appreciated!!!

Sensor Selection: I am thinking of using a photodiode, assuming that the emitted wavelength is strong enough to detect.I assume I have to use an op amp. If the emitted wavelength is too weak from attenuation through the tissue, what options do I have? An avalanche photodiode?

Display: I want to display the results on an LCD and possibly want to show a intensity graphic similar to a heat map that updates in real time. What LCD should I choose and how would I go about creating this? Would it be easier to use Bluetooth and communicate the data to an Android device or website rather than use an LCD?

Other Questions

  1. Will using a lux converter create noise that can not be accounted for? IE Is it better to take the analog signal directly from the sensor and then convert it to digital thorugh code or does it not make a difference using hardware components to convert analog to digital?

Please give as much detail as possible as I am quite new to everything! Specific procedure and components would be amazing!

2

leej12:
Hello,

I am part of a synthetic biology team whose goal is to modify immune cells to respond to an incident wavelength of 670-702nm and emit a near-infrared wavelength of 650-900nm(to be determined).

My goal is to create a sensor that will be able to detect this emitted wavelength through human tissue and convert the data from the sensor to the si unit lux of intensity. The sensor should be as accurate as possible.

Everything I know is from simple googling so any help would be appreciated!!!

This sounds like you should be talking to a professor of physics or medcine of some such.

3

Those wavelengths are a bit long for normal silicon detectors, look at the data sheet of a few and see.
Yes you will always get noise with any detector of anything. The job of the electronics designer is to minimises that noise.

For sensitivity you need something like a photo multiplier but it might need an interference optical filter to restrict it to the wavelengths you want. Also you might want your physics department to make one rather than trying to buy one.