Pulse oximetry with two infrared wavelengths without calibration in extracted arterial blood

Ohad Yossef Hay, Meir Cohen, Itamar Nitzan, Yair Kasirer, Sarit Shahroor-Karni, Yitzhak Yitzhaky, Shlomo Engelberg, Meir Nitzan

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    34 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Oxygen saturation in arterial blood (SaO2) provides information about the performance of the respiratory system. Non-invasive measurement of SaO2 by commercial pulse oximeters (SpO2) make use of photoplethysmographic pulses in the red and infrared regions and utilizes the different spectra of light absorption by oxygenated and de-oxygenated hemoglobin. Because light scattering and optical path-lengths differ between the two wavelengths, commercial pulse oximeters require empirical calibration which is based on SaO2 measurement in extracted arterial blood. They are still prone to error, because the path-lengths difference between the two wavelengths varies among different subjects. We have developed modified pulse oximetry, which makes use of two nearby infrared wavelengths that have relatively similar scattering constants and path-lengths and does not require an invasive calibration step. In measurements performed on adults during breath holding, the two-infrared pulse oximeter and a commercial pulse oximeter showed similar changes in SpO2. The two pulse oximeters showed similar accuracy when compared to SaO2 measurement in extracted arterial blood (the gold standard) performed in intensive care units on newborns and children with an arterial line. Errors in SpO2 because of variability in path-lengths difference between the two wavelengths are expected to be smaller in the two-infrared pulse oximeter.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number3457
    JournalSensors (Switzerland)
    Volume18
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 15 Oct 2018

    Keywords

    • Beer
    • Calibration
    • Infrared
    • Lambert law
    • Oxygen saturation
    • Pulse oximetry

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Analytical Chemistry
    • Information Systems
    • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
    • Biochemistry
    • Instrumentation
    • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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