Will it be a simple ON/OFF ? Thru-beam, Diffuse or Retro Reflective ?
All it needs to do is switch 5v on and off.
Plenty folks using IR LED's, Photo transistors for optical limit/Home switches and the like.
The C3 Index from CNC4PC can be used this way also, although thru-beam.
Need to know the particular sensor to be sure, but sounds doable.
Russ