title: Non-invasive optical monitoring of cerebral blood oxygenation in the foetus and newborn: preliminary investigation.
abstract: Near infra-red spectroscopy was applied as a non-invasive and continuous technique for the in vivo monitoring of blood and tissue oxygenation in human neonates. Monitoring of cerebral blood oxygenation in the wavelength range 775-904 nm was carried out on preterm infants after inducing a transient mild hypoxic change; the measurements were performed either by the transmission or reflection (backscattering) mode of monitoring. The results of these investigations were used to assess the application of the technique to foetal monitoring. A series of foetal monitoring studies was performed to investigate the influence of maternal contractions on foetal cerebral blood oxygenation. Although only changes in haemoglobin concentration can be monitored at present, the results suggest that near infra-red monitoring could provide a non-invasive, real-time monitoring method in intensive neonatal and intrapartum care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics, University of Keele, Hospital Centre, Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Faris
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rolfe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thorniley
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wickramasinghe
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Houston
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005323:Fetal Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism*; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012127:Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn / Q000097:blood; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen