Optoelectronic blood oximetry as a tool of health safety monitoring

Abstract

A metrological approach of some selected problems connected with the significant field of biomedical optics i.e., monitoring of arterial blood oxygenation by use of the tissues as optical media exposed to the controlled light action, has been presented. The subject of the measurements based on utilization of the selection absorption properties of blood is the hemoglobin oxygen saturation. Using optoelectronic sensing allows to convert sophisticated effects of noninvasive light-living tissue interaction to electrical signals which may be convenient to measure. Pulse oximetry which is based upon such a way of sensing and processing, is the recent advance in noninvasive oximetry. The unique advantages of that marvelous diagnostic technique have caused to recommend pulse oximeters as standard equipment in intensive care and other critical situations impending hypoxemia appearance. However, end-users of the pulse oximeters not always are aware of that these devices fall under specific limitations, of both physiological and technical nature. The author of this paper is a metrologist and deals mainly with various interdisciplinary problems of a measurement reliability including the aspects such as uncertainty of an outcome accessible to the user, causes affecting sensitivity, resolution and repeatability of processing function, and response time and stability of results. Referring to the subject discussed herein, and taking into account some open questions, the author's contribution is her own experience in modeling as well as in in vivo measuring of transilluminated living objects. A proposed novel use of the known pulse oximetry concept may be considered as complementary results against a general review background of the achievements obtained in oximetry as the state-of-the-art, and furthermore, the developing studies which are still in progress.