An apparatus for spectroscopic evaluation of a subject's body fluids may
be used at the interstitial region adjacent to or in between a subject's
extremities using a spectroscopic probe. The spectroscopic probe may
possess one or more of the movements such as rotational, translational,
and/or vertical freedom necessary for the probe to contact the subject's
tissue at a consistent angle and pressure while accommodating the
different size of the subject's extremities, and may be housed in a
device optimized for attaining reproducible blood flow to the region of
the subject that is measured, and for minimizing the effects of the
housing pulling, stretching, pressing, compressing the subject's skin. A
pressure sensor may be used to ensure that measurements are taken at an
optimal pressure. A touch sensor may be used to activate a system and/or
to ensure flushness. In addition, the spectroscopic measurement may be
coupled with a temperature measurement means that detects the subject's
local body temperature in or near the region being measured, or the
subject's core or mean body temperature, or the ambient temperature
proximate to the probe, or any combination of those measurements. The
system may also include one or more indicators to communicate information
to a test subject.