Conjunctival Continuous Blood and Tissue Gas Monitor for Infant Care

描述（由申请人提供）：血气监测通常在手术、重症监护或急诊室中对患者进行评估时必不可少。测量动脉或静脉值涉及血管穿刺和血液移除以进行间歇性测试，或插入血管内传感器。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，婴儿可能会患上脑瘫或死亡，而过多的氧气可能会导致视网膜病变失明。患者的二氧化碳水平对于指示肺部和代谢状态很重要，pH值也是如此。然而，抽取血液进行测试对脆弱的婴儿来说是相当大的风险，并且不能测量大脑等重要器官的灌注。为了解决这一问题，智能光学系统（IOS）与哈博-加州大学洛杉矶分校医学中心的洛杉矶生物医学研究所合作，提出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。该设置将基于放置在患者眼睛结膜上的薄的、柔性的、无刺激性的光纤探针。四个嵌入探头的光学传感器将确定通过结膜扩散的气体的pH值、二氧化碳和氧张力以及温度。电光读出单元将询问光纤系统，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部运动不敏感。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的重要空白，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人可以获得连续的血液和组织气体监测。鉴于结膜监测的微创性和血气分析的重要性，该系统可能成为重症监护、手术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.