Dynamic monitoring of blood oxygen saturation in vivo using double-ring photoacoustic sensor

Photoacoustic (PA) can distinguish oxygenated main chromophores which are hemoglobin (HbO(2)) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (Hb) in blood by the optical absorption at multiple optical wavelengths. In this study, a noninvasive PA system with a double-ring sensor was used for fixed-point measurement of hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SO2) continually. The double-ring sensor is an ultrasonic Fresnel zone plate ultrasonic transducer. It has two-zone negative zone plate piezoelectric material pattern with good focusing effect for fixed-point detection of SO2. Three specific optical absorbed wavelengths (760, 805, and 850 nm) of HbO(2) and Hb were employed sequentially to obtain PA signals and calculate the SO2 at each blood oxygen level. The capability and accuracy of the system were tested by phantom samples and in vitro blood samples, and the results of the PA detection were in excellent agreement with the data of the control group by the blood-gas analyzer. In in vivo studies, the SO2 of the artery and the vein in a rabbit ear were noninvasively detected. Furthermore, changes in the SO2 from normal to hypoxia and to hyperoxia due to the changed inhale gas were dynamically recorded by the PA system. The experimental results demonstrate that this PA SO2 measurement system has the potential for fixed-point detection and dynamic monitoring of blood oxygen saturation.