PFI-TT: A Noninvasive Biological Research Tool for Measurement of Tissue and Cerebral Oxygenation

这一创新-技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目具有更广泛的影响/商业潜力，解决了目前缺乏成本效益高的工具来测量生物组织中的氧气的问题，这是目前重要研究的一个主要瓶颈。在过去的十年里，出现了一个利用特定的非侵入性技术对生物组织进行活体研究的生物研究社区。一种名为近红外光谱(NIRS)的测量技术将对许多领域产生影响，包括脑功能成像、中风评估、乳腺癌筛查和早产儿大脑监测。应用硅制造技术制造这些近红外(NIR)仪器是向可穿戴诊断工具发展的一个重要里程碑，该工具以类似于典型脉搏血氧仪的紧凑形式提供关于组织氧合的精确数据。拟议的项目代表着护理点式诊断工具发展的一个重要里程碑。该团队是第一个展示了在未经修改的商业硅制造工艺中实施频域组织光谱技术的前景。他们提出了一种可穿戴设备，通过使用低成本、固态光学设备和集成了复杂信号处理电路、激光驱动器、数字化和无线通信功能的片上系统(SoC)平台，以紧凑的外形尺寸实施先进的近红外光谱方法。频域SoC微系统将在可扩展、可穿戴和床边监测系统的开发中发挥重要作用，该系统能够在多个波长上运行，以测量几个生物生色团的绝对浓度，并如本文所建议的那样，实现选择性的深度灵敏度，这在目前仅测量强度的连续波近红外系统中是不可能的。此外，小型化能够实现同时测量多个诊断模式的系统。芯片上无线数据传输的集成将使受试者在运动时能够灵活地观察组织氧合，而不受笨重光缆线束的限制。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation-Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project addresses the lack of cost-effective tools for to measure oxygen in biological tissues, currently a major bottleneck for important studies. Over the past decade, a biological research community has emerged utilizing specific noninvasive techniques for in vivo studies of biological tissue. A measurement technique known as near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) will have an impact on many fields, including functional brain imaging, stroke assessment, breast cancer screening, and premature infant brain monitoring. Applying silicon manufacturing techniques to making these near-infrared (NIR) instruments presents a significant milestone toward wearable diagnostic tools providing precise data on tissue oxygenation, in a compact form similar to a typical pulse oximeter.The proposed project presents a significant milestone in the development of point-of-care diagnostic tools. The team was the first to demonstrate the promise of implementation of frequency domain tissue spectroscopy techniques in an unmodified commercial silicon fabrication process. They propose a wearable device that implements advanced NIRS methods in a compact form factor by employing low-cost, solid-state optical devices and a system-on-chip (SoC) platform integrating complex signal processing circuitry, laser drivers, digitization, and wireless communication capability. Frequency domain SoC microsystems will play a significant role in development of scalable, wearable and bedside monitoring systems capable of operation over multiple wavelengths to measure absolute concentrations of several biological chromophores and, as proposed here, achieve selective depth sensitivity, which is currently not possible with continuous-wave NIRS systems that only measure intensity. In addition, miniaturization enables the realization of systems for concurrent measurement of multiple diagnostic modalities. The integration of on-chip wireless data transmission will enable the flexibility to observe tissue oxygenation while subjects are in motion without the limiting constraints of a bulky fiber optic cable harness.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.