Optical sensors represent the most common type of biosensor. With continued innovation and integration, biosensors are more accurate at low power. This session provides technical background on how optical techniques improve our everyday life and how they are used for bioanalytical applications. It discusses the common noise and error sources affecting optical sensors in mobile and wearable applications, including the effects of confounders from the environment captured in the measurement and the physiological variations among the user population.

Attendees receive an overview on using reflectometry for a pulse plethysmograph (PPG) waveform and details about the physical and physiological principals at work. They also learn about current capabilities of wearable biosensors and the future direction of optical biosensing applications.