Near-infrared spiroximetry: noninvasive measurements of venous saturation in piglets and human subjects

• Published in: Journal of applied physiology (1985) Vol. 92; no. 1; pp. 372 - 384
• Main Authors: Franceschini, Maria Angela, Boas, David A, Zourabian, Anna, Diamond, Solomon G, Nadgir, Shalini, Lin, David W, Moore, John B, Fantini, Sergio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Am Physiological Soc 01.01.2002; American Physiological Society
• Subjects: Adult; Algorithms; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Blood gas. Hemoglobin. Myoglobin. Hemotissulary gas exchange. Acid-base balance; Exercise - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hemoglobin; Hindlimb - blood supply; Humans; Infrared spectroscopy; Male; Oximetry - methods; Oxygen; Oxygen - blood; Regional Blood Flow - physiology; Respiration; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; Spectrum analysis; Spirometry - methods; Swine; Tissues; Vertebrates: respiratory system; Human; Oxygen; Venous blood; Pulse oxymetry; Saturation; Frequency domain method; Pig; Near infrared spectrometry; Tissue; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Non invasive method; Hemoglobin; Artiodactyla; Measurement method; Ungulata
• ISSN: 8750-7587; 1522-1601
• DOI: 10.1152/jappl.2002.92.1.372

1  Bioengineering Center, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Tufts University, Medford 02155-6013; and 2  NMR Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129 We present a noninvasive method to measure the venous oxygen saturation (Sv O 2 ) in tissues using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). This method is based on the respiration-induced oscillations of the near-infrared absorption in tissues, and we call it spiroximetry (the prefix spiro means respiration). We have tested this method in three piglets (hind leg) and in eight human subjects (vastus medialis and vastus lateralis muscles). In the piglet study, we compared our NIRS measurements of the Sv O 2 (Sv O 2 -NIRS resp ) with the Sv O 2 of blood samples. Sv O 2 -NIRS resp and Sv O 2 of blood samples agreed well over the whole range of Sv O 2 considered (20-95%). The two measurements showed an average difference of 1.0% and a standard deviation of the difference of 5.8%. In the human study, we found a good agreement between Sv O 2 -NIRS resp and the Sv O 2 values measured with the NIRS venous occlusion method. Finally, in a preliminary test involving muscle exercise, Sv O 2 -NIRS resp showed an expected postexercise decrease from the initial baseline value and a subsequent recovery to baseline. tissue spectroscopy; frequency-domain; pulse oximetry; hemoglobin saturation