Conjunctival Continuous Blood and Tissue Gas Monitor for Infant Care

描述(由申请人提供)：血气监测在评估外科、重症监护或急诊室患者时通常是必不可少的。测量动脉或静脉值需要对血管进行穿刺术和抽血以进行间歇性检测，或者插入血管内传感器。对于重症监护中的新生儿，特别是需要补充氧气的早产儿，血液和组织气体水平至关重要。如果氧气不足，婴儿可能会发展为脑瘫或呼吸衰竭，而氧气过多则可能导致视网膜病变致盲。患者的二氧化碳水平和PH值对于指示肺部和新陈代谢状态很重要。然而，抽血进行检测对脆弱的婴儿来说是一个相当大的风险，而且不能测量大脑等重要器官的灌注量。为了解决这一问题，智能光学系统(IOS)与位于港湾的洛杉矶生物医学研究所合作，提议为婴儿和重症监护患者开发一种微创、连续的血液和组织气体监测系统。该装置将基于放置在患者结膜上的一个薄的、灵活的、无刺激性的光纤探头。探头中嵌入的四个光学传感器将确定通过结膜扩散的气体的pH值、二氧化碳和氧分压，以及温度。电光读出装置将询问光纤系统，并连续显示和监测患者的结膜或血气。基于iOS的分布式光纤传感器技术，该系统将对患者的头部或眼睛运动不敏感。我们的合作者进行的初步研究已经验证了这种创新的检测方法。拟议的系统填补了婴儿重症监护方面的一个重要空白，使脆弱的早产儿和重症监护中的新生儿以及需要重症监护或接受大手术的危重儿童和成年人可以进行持续的血液和组织气体监测。鉴于结膜监测的微创性质和血气分析的重要性，该系统可能成为重症监护、手术期间和急诊室的标准工具。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The monitoring of blood gases is often essential in evaluating patients in surgery, critical care or in emergency rooms. Measuring arterial or venous values involves either puncture of a vessel and blood removal for intermittent testing, or the insertion of an intravascular sensor. For newborns in critical care, and particularly the premature infant requiring supplemental oxygen, blood and tissue gas levels are crucial. If the oxygen is insufficient, the infant may develop cerebral palsy or expire, while too much oxygen may cause blindness from retinopathy. The patient's carbon dioxide level is important to indicate pulmonary and metabolic status, as is the pH value. The removal of blood for testing, however, represents a considerable risk for the fragile infant, and does not measure the perfusion of vital organs such as the brain. To solve this problem, Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS), in collaboration with the Los Angeles Biomedical Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, proposes to develop a minimally invasive, continuous blood and tissue gas monitoring system for infants and critical care patients. The setup will be based on a thin, flexible, non-irritant fiberoptic probe placed on the conjunctiva of the patient's eye. Four optical sensors embedded in the probe will determine the pH, carbon dioxide, and oxygen tension of the gas diffusing through the conjunctiva, together with the temperature. An electrooptic readout unit will interrogate the fiberoptic system, and continuously display and monitor the patient's conjunctival or blood gases. Based on IOS' distributed fiber sensor technology, the system will be insensitive to the patient's head or ocular movements. Preliminary studies performed by our collaborators have validated this innovative detection approach. The proposed system fills an important gap in critical care for infants, making continuous blood and tissue gas monitoring available to fragile premature infants and newborns in intensive care, as well as for critically ill children and adults requiring intensive care or undergoing major surgery. Given both the minimal invasive nature of conjunctival monitoring and the importance of blood gas analysis, this system could become a standard tool in critical care, during surgery, and in the emergency room.