METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC BASED OXIMETRY OF SPINAL TISSUE

• US 20100105998A1
• Filed: 10/28/2009
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cas Medical Systems Incorporated (Edwards Lifesciences Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cas Medical Systems Incorporated (Edwards Lifesciences Corporation)
• Inventors: Benni, Paul
• Application Number:
  US12/607,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20100105998A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/340
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0242 for varying or adjusting the optical path length in the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14552 Details of sensors specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/407 Evaluating the spinal cord A61B5/4896 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6846 specially adapted to be brought in contact with an internal body part, i.e. invasive
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6865 Access ports

Abstract

A near infrared spectrophotometric sensor for non-invasive monitoring of blood oxygenation levels in a subject'"'"'s spinal cord tissue and spinal cord blood vessels is provided. The sensor includes at least one light source and at least one light detector. The light source is operative to emit near infrared light signals of a plurality of different wavelengths. The light detector is operative to sense light signals emitted from the light source and passed through the subject'"'"'s spinal tissue, and to produce a sensor signal representative of the sensed light signals The light source is separated from the light detector by a distance representative of a distance from a first vertebrae structure of a human spine to a second vertebrae structure of the human spine, to permit alignment of the light source and detector with the first and second vertebrae structure.

Claims

1. A near infrared spectrophotometric sensor for non-invasive monitoring of blood oxygenation levels in a subject'"'"'s spinal cord tissue and spinal cord blood vessels, said sensor comprising:

at least one light source operative to emit near infrared light signals of a plurality of different wavelengths;

at least one light detector operative to sense light signals emitted from the light source and passed through the subject'"'"'s spinal tissue, and produce a sensor signal representative of the sensed light signals;

wherein the light source is separated from the light detector by a distance representative of a distance from a first vertebrae structure of a human spine to a second vertebrae structure of the human spine, to permit alignment of the light source and detector with the first and second vertebrae structure.

2. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the light source includes a fiber optic light guide and a light redirecting prism, and a single light detector.

3. The sensor of claim 2, wherein the light detector is separated from the light source by about sixty-five millimeters.

4. The sensor of claim 1 wherein the distance separating the light source from the light detector is based on a distance representative of a distance between first and second vertebrae structures located within a lumbar region of the human spine.

5. The sensor of claim 1 wherein the distance separating the light source from the light detector is based on a distance representative of a distance between first and second vertebrae structures located within a cervical region of the human spine.

6. The sensor of claim 1 wherein the distance separating the light source from the light detector is based on a distance representative of a distance between first and second vertebrae structures located within a thoracic region of the human spine.

7. A near infrared spectrophotometric system for non-invasive monitoring of blood oxygenation levels in a subject'"'"'s spinal cord tissue and spinal cord blood vessels, said system comprising:

one or more sensors, each sensor having at least one light source operative to emit near infrared light signals of a plurality of different wavelengths, and at least one light detector operative to sense light signals emitted from the light source and passing through the subject'"'"'s spinal tissue, and to produce a sensor signal representative of the sensed light signals, and wherein the light source is separated from the light detector by a distance representative of a distance from a first vertebrae structure of a human spine to a second vertebrae structure of the human spine, to permit alignment of the light source and detector with the first and second vertebrae structure; and

a processor adapted to produce signals from the light source and receive sensor signals from the light detector, and to analyze such sensors signals to determine the blood oxygenation level within the subject'"'"'s spinal cord tissue and spinal cord blood vessels.

8. A method for non-invasively monitoring blood oxygenation levels in a subject'"'"'s spinal cord tissue and spinal cord blood vessels, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one light source operative to emit near infrared light signals of a plurality of different wavelengths;

aligning the light source with a first vertebrae structure of the subject;

providing at least one light detector operative to sense light signals emitted from the light source and passed through the subject'"'"'s spinal tissue, and produce a sensor signal representative of the sensed light signals;

aligning the light detector with a second vertebrae structure of the subject;

introducing the near infrared light signals into the subject from the light source in a manner such that light signals travel through the first vertebrae structure, pass through spinal cord tissue and spinal cord blood vessels, and pass through the second vertebrae structure; and

detecting light passing through the second vertebrae structure using the light detector, and producing sensor signals representative of such detected light; and

processing the sensor signals to obtain data relating to the blood oxygenation level of the subject'"'"'s spinal cord tissue and spinal cord blood vessels.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the aligning steps include providing a sensor that includes the light source and the light detector spaced apart from one another by a distance representative of a distance from the first vertebrae to the second vertebrae structure.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the distance separating the light source from the light detector is based on a distance representative of a distance between first and second vertebrae structures located within a lumbar region of a human spine.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the distance separating the light source from the light detector is based on a distance representative of a distance between first and second vertebrae structures located within a cervical region of a human spine.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the distance separating the light source from the light detector is based on a distance representative of a distance between first and second vertebrae structures located within a thoracic region of a human spine.