Abstract

Background
A pilot investigation was undertaken to assess the performance of a novel fiber-optic cerebral pulse oximetry system. A fiber-optic probe designed to pass through the lumen of a cranial bolt of the type used to make intracranial pressure measurements was used to obtain optical reflectance signals directly from brain tissue.

Methods
Short-duration measurements were made in six patients undergoing neurosurgery. These were followed by a longer duration measurement in a patient recovering from an intracerebral hematoma. Estimations of cerebral arterial oxygen saturation derived from a frequency domain-based algorithm are compared with simultaneous pulse oximetry (SpO2) and emoximeter (SaO2) blood samples.

Results
The short-duration measurements showed that reliable photoplethysmographic signals could be obtained from the brain tissue. In the long-duration study, the mean (±SD) difference between cerebral oxygen saturation (ScaO2) and finger SpO2 (in saturation units) was
-7.47(±3.4)%. The mean (±SD) difference between ScaO2 and blood SaO2 was -7.37(±2.8)%.

Conclusions
This pilot study demonstrated that arterial oxygen saturation may be estimated from brain tissue via a fiber-optic pulse oximeter used in conjunction with a cranial bolt. Further studies are needed to confirm the clinical utility of the technique.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12028-010-9349-y
Publisher Keywords:	Pulse oximetry, Saturation, Cerebral, Fiber-optic, Cranial bolt
Subjects:	R Medicine T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Departments:	School of Science & Technology School of Science & Technology > Engineering

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