NIRS measurement of tissue pH: optimizing small fiber optic probe designs with the aid of Monte-Carlo simulations

摘要

Tissue pH electrodes have been used in research and in humans to evaluate various myocardial protection methods during heart surgery. Near IR spectroscopic measurement of myocardial tissue pH is a feasible, minimally invasive method that can be used to identify regional areas of ischemia and provide the surgeon with information continuously and postoperatively. Inhomogeneous, depth dependent tissue pH levels in ischemic myocardium make a robust in-vivo optical measurement challenging. Tissue heterogeneity requires a well-defined optical probe geometry capable of detecting light with adequate localization. Monte Carlo modeling of light propagation for purely scattering and relevant absorbing and scattering media were use4d to identify possible source-detector fiber separations for a matched boundary. In the region approximately 0.3 to 0.8 mm away from the source, the models demonstrated that minimization of the wavelength dependence of scattering is possible. Wavelength dependence is apparent at separations greater than approximately 1.2 mm. Adequate localization of NIR light is tissue is feasible within this source-detector separation range based on the simulations with hemoglobin as the only absorber. The application to a small fiber sensor's fabrication is discussed.