// Load the spreadsheet reader library
$this->load->library('excel_reader');

// Read the spreadsheet via a relative path to the document
// for example $this->excel_reader->read('./uploads/file.xls');
$this->excel_reader->read('./uploads/file.xls');

// Get the contents of the first worksheet
$worksheet = $this->excel_reader->sheets[0];

$numRows = $worksheet['numRows']; // ex: 14
$numCols = $worksheet['numCols']; // ex: 4
$cells = $worksheet['cells']; // the 1st row are usually the field's name