Abstract

We present a photoacoustic measurement system based on semiconductor lasers for blood oxygenation measurements. It permits to use four different optical wavelengths (650nm, 808nm, 850nm, 905nm) to generate photoacoustic signals. As the optical extinction coefficient of oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin is different at specific wavelengths, a blood oxygenation measurement by a multi-wavelength photoacoustic laser system is feasible. Especially at 650nm, the clear difference between the extinction coefficients of the two hemoglobin derivates permits to determine the blood oxygenation in combination with other near infrared wavelengths. A linear model based on tabulated values of extinction coefficients for fully oxygenated and fully deoxygenated hemoglobin is presented. We used heparin stabilized whole porcine blood samples to model the optical behavior of human blood, as the optical absorption behavior of porcine hemoglobin does not differ significantly from human hemoglobin. To determine the real oxygen saturation values of the blood samples, we measured the partial oxygen pressure with an IRMA Trupoint Blood Analysis System. The oxygen saturation values were calculated from a dissociation curve for porcine blood. The results of the photoacoustic measurement are in qualitatively good agreement with the predicted linear model. Further, we analyze the abilities and the limitations of quantitative oxygenation measurements.

© 2011 OSA/SPIE