The present invention provides a system and method for detecting the level or presence of a fluid in a surgical cassette (150,500) by projecting light from a linear light source into a wall of a cassette. Depending on the amount a light reflected (220,330,360) or refracted (220,330,360) in the cassette (i.e., due to the cassette material/fluid interface or cassette material/air interface (or other interface)) various portions of a linear sensor array (206,508,314,352) will be more or less illuminated. By examining the illumination of the linear sensor array, the level of fluid in the chamber can be determined.
