Quantitative clinical non-pulsatile and localized visible light oximeter:: Design of the T-Stat™ tissue oximeter

We report the development of a general, quantitative, and localized visible light clinical tissue oximeter, sensitive to both hypoxemia and ischemia. Monitor design and operation were optimized over four instrument generations. A range of clinical probes were developed, including non-contact wands, invasive catheters, and penetrating needles with injection ports. Real-time data were collected (a) from probes, standards, and reference solutions to optimize each component, (b) from ex vivo hemoglobin,solutions co-analyzed for StO(2)% and pO(2) during deoxygenation, and (c) from normoxic human subject skin and mucosal tissue surfaces. Results show that (a) differential spectroscopy allows extraction of features with minimization of the effects of scattering, (b) in vitro oximetry produces a hemoglobin saturation binding curve of expected sigmoid shape and values, and (c) that monitoring human tissues allows real-time tissue spectroscopic features to be monitored. Unlike with near-infrared (NIRS) or pulse oximetry (SpO(2)%) methods, we found non-pulsatile, diffusion-based tissue oximetry (StO(2)%) to work most reliably for non-contact reflectance monitoring and for invasive catheter- or needle-based monitoring, using blue to orange light (475-600 nm). Measured values were insensitive to motion artifact. Down time was non-existent. We conclude that the T-Stat(TM) oximeter design is suitable for the collection of spectroscopic data from human subjects, and that the oximeter may have application in the monitoring of regional hemoglobin oxygen saturation in the capillary tissue spaces of human subjects.