Oximeter for reliable clinical determination of blood oxygen saturation in a fetus
US5494032A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 23, 1994 |
| Grant date | Feb 27, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 23, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2201/129
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
With the crude instrumentation now in use to continuously monitor the status of the fetus at delivery, the obstetrician and labor room staff not only over-recognize the possibility of fetal distress with the resultant rise in operative deliveries, but at times do not identify fetal distress which may result in preventable fetal neurological harm. The invention, which addresses these two basic problems, comprises a method and apparatus for non-invasive determination of blood oxygen saturation in the fetus. The apparatus includes a multiple frequency light source which is coupled to an optical fiber. The output of the fiber is used to illuminate blood containing tissue of the fetus. In the preferred embodiment, the reflected light is transmitted back to the apparatus where the light intensities are simultaneously detected at multiple frequencies. The resulting spectrum is then analyzed for determination of oxygen saturation. The analysis method uses multivariate calibration techniques that compensate for nonlinear spectral response, model interfering spectral responses and detect outlier data with high sensitivity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.