Apparatus for determining the concentration of light-absorbing materials in blood

• US 5,766,125 A
• Filed: 04/27/1995
• Issued: 06/16/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nihon Kohden Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nihon Kohden Corporation
• Inventors: Hirahara, Hideaki, Kobayashi, Naoki, Fuse, Masayoshi, Aoyagi, Takuo, Kanemoto, Michio, Xie, Cheng-tai
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahr, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): YARNELL, BRYAN KEITH
• Application Number:
  US08/429,545
• Time in Patent Office: 1,146 Days
• Field of Search: 128/633, 128/664-7, 356/39-41, 600/310, 600/322, 600/314-316, 600/323, 600/326, 600/328
• US Class Current: 600/310
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14551 for measuring blood gases
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/3151 using two sources of radiation of different wavelengths G01N21/33 - G01N21/39 take precedence

Abstract

Light beams of different wavelengths, emitted from a light generating device, are transmitted through a living tissue. The transmitted light beams are converted into electrical signals by a photoelectric transducing device. A pulsation calculating device calculates a pulsation of an absorbance of tissue of a living tissue for each wavelength on the basis of the output signal of the photoelectric transducing device. By using this, a pulsation ratio calculating device calculates the ratio of the pulsations of the absorbance values. A concentration calculating device puts the output signal of the pulsation ratio calculating device into a formula having a single unknown on the tissue term, which is constructed on the basis of the fact that a predetermined relation is present between the tissue terms of the respective wavelengths, thereby calculating a value of the tissue term and the concentration of light absorbing material in blood.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining a concentration of at least one of a tissue term and light absorbing materials in blood comprising:

light generating means for generating light beams of different wavelengths;

photoelectric transducing means for converting light beams, which are emitted from the light generating means, and transmitted through a tissue of living body, into electrical signals;

pulsation calculating means for calculating pulsations of absorbency of the tissue of living body for each wavelength on the basis of output signals from the photoelectric transducing means;

pulsation ratio calculating means for calculating a ratio of the pulsations of the absorbency of each wavelength, calculated by the pulsation calculating means; and

first concentration calculating means for performing the calculations of a value of said tissue term on the basis of an output signal from the pulsation ratio calculating means using a formula having a single unknown on the tissue term, which is constructed on the basis of the fact that a predetermined relation is present between the tissue terms of the different wavelengths.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined relation, which is present between the tissue terms of the different wavelengths, is such a relation that each tissue term is expressed by a linear function of a single tissue term.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

indicating signal generating means for generating an indication signal after dye has been injected into the blood;

second concentration calculating means for performing the calculations of at least one of a concentration value of dye in blood and the concentration of light absorbing materials in blood on the basis of the output signal from the pulsation ratio calculating means after the indicating signal generating means generates an indication signal, using the value of a tissue term obtained by the first concentration calculating means.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the concentration value of dye in the first calculating means is set to zero.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first concentration calculating means further performs the calculation of the concentration of light absorbing material in blood on the basis of said output signal from said pulsation ratio calculating means using said formula.

6. A method for determining at least one of a tissue term and a concentration of light absorbing materials, comprising the steps of:

generating light beams of different wavelengths;

converting light beams, which are emitted from light generating means, and transmitted through a tissue of living body, into electrical signals;

calculating a pulsation of an absorbance of the tissue of a living body for each wavelength on the basis of output signals from a photoelectric transducing means;

calculating a ratio of the pulsations of the absorbency of each wavelength, which are calculated by pulsation calculating means; and

performing the calculations of a value of said tissue term on the basis of an output signal from the pulsation ratio calculating means, and calculating a formula having a single unknown on the tissue term, which is constructed on the basis of the fact that a predetermined relation is present between the tissue terms of the different wavelengths.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of:

performing the calculations of the concentration of light absorbing materials in blood on said calculated value of a tissue term and said calculated ratio of the pulsations of the absorbence of each wavelength.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

performing the calculation of the concentration of light absorbing materials in blood on said value of said tissue term and said ratio of the pulsations of the absorbence of each wavelength.

9. An apparatus for determining at least one of a value of a tissue term and a concentration of light absorbing materials, comprising:

light generating means for generating light beams of different wavelengths;

photoelectric transducing means for converting light beams, which are emitted from the said light generating means, and transmitted through a tissue of living body into electrical signals;

pulsation calculating means for calculating pulsations of absorbency of the tissue of the living body for each wavelength on the basis of output signals of said photoelectric transducing means;

pulsation ratio calculating means for calculating ratios of the pulsations of the absorbency of each wavelength calculated by said pulsation calculating means; and

first concentration calculating means for performing the calculations of said value of said tissue term and the concentration of light absorbing materials on the basis of an output signal from the pulsation ratio calculating means using a formula having a single unknown on the tissue term, which is constructed on the basis of the fact that a predetermined relation is present between the tissue terms of the different wavelengths.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined relation which is present between the tissue terms of the different wavelengths is such a relation that each tissue term is expressed by a linear function of a single tissue term.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

indicating signal generating means for generating an indication signal after dye has been injected into the blood;

second concentration calculating means for performing the calculation of at least one of a concentration value of dye in blood and the concentration of light absorbing materials in blood on the basis of an output signal from said pulsation ratio calculating means after said indication signal generating means generates said indication signal, using the value of a tissue term obtained by said first concentration calculating means.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the concentration value of dye in the first calculating means is set to zero.

13. A method for determining at least one of a value of a tissue term and a concentration of light absorbing materials, comprising the steps of:

generating light beams of different wavelengths;

converting light beams, which are emitted from light generating means, and transmitted through a tissue of living body, into electrical signals;

calculating a pulsation ratio of an absorbance of the tissue of the living body for each wavelength on the basis of output signals from a photoelectric transducing means;

calculating ratios of the pulsations of the absorbency of each wavelength which are calculated by pulsation calculating means; and

performing the calculations of said value of said tissue term and the concentration of light absorbing materials on the basis of an output signal from the pulsation ratio calculating means, and calculating a formula having a single unknown on the tissue term, which is constructed on the basis of the fact that a predetermined relation is present between the tissue term of the different wavelengths.