title: Evaluation of electrical and optical plethysmography sensors for noninvasive monitoring of hemoglobin concentration.
abstract: Completely noninvasive monitoring of hemoglobin concentration has not yet been fully realized in the clinical setting. This study investigates the viability of measuring hemoglobin concentration noninvasively by evaluating the performance of two types of sensor using a tissue phantom perfused with a blood substitute. An electrical sensor designed to measure blood volume changes during the cardiac cycle was used together with an infrared optical sensor for detection of erythrocyte-bound hemoglobin. Both sensors demonstrated sensitivity to changes in pulse volume (plethysmography). The electrical sensor produced a signal referred to as capacitance plethysmograph (CPG) a quantity which was invariant to the concentration of an infrared absorbing dye present in the blood substitute. The optical sensor signal (photoplethysmograph) increased in amplitude with increasing absorber concentration. The ratio PPG:CPG is invariant to pulse pressure. This quantity is discussed as a possible index of in vivo hemoglobin concentration.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK. justin.phillips.1@city.ac.uk
authors.forename: Justin P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hickey
authors.forename: Panayiotis A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kyriacou
mesh_terms: D001811:Blood Volume Determination / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003217:Conductometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D010092:Oximetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017156:Photoplethysmography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014159:Transducers
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins