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

这个创新技术转化伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力解决了缺乏成本效益高的工具来测量生物组织中的氧气，这是目前重要研究的主要瓶颈。 在过去的十年中，已经出现了一个生物研究社区，利用特定的非侵入性技术在体内研究的生物组织。 一种被称为近红外光谱（NIRS）的测量技术将对许多领域产生影响，包括功能性脑成像、中风评估、乳腺癌筛查和早产儿大脑监测。 将硅制造技术应用于制造这些近红外（NIR）仪器是可穿戴诊断工具的一个重要里程碑，该诊断工具以类似于典型脉搏血氧仪的紧凑形式提供组织氧合的精确数据。拟议的项目是护理点诊断工具发展的一个重要里程碑。 该团队是第一个证明在未经修改的商业硅制造过程中实施频域组织光谱技术的承诺。 他们提出了一种可穿戴设备，通过采用低成本的固态光学器件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，以紧凑的外形实现先进的NIRS方法。频域SoC微系统将在开发可扩展、可穿戴和床边监测系统方面发挥重要作用，这些系统能够在多个波长上操作，以测量几种生物发色团的绝对浓度，并如本文所提出的，实现选择性深度灵敏度，这是目前仅测量强度的连续波NIRS系统无法实现的。此外，小型化使得能够实现用于同时测量多个诊断模态的系统。集成的片上无线数据传输将使灵活性，以观察组织的氧合，而受试者是在运动中没有一个笨重的光纤电缆束的限制约束。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

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.