Fiber-optic transmission catheter for regional venous oxygen saturation and blood flow.

We have developed a method for monitoring regional venous oxygen saturation. The key feature of this system is the use of highly flexible polymer fiber optics, and this flexibility allowed the production of a new fiber-optic transmission catheter. The space between the "face-to-face" positioned fiber-optic tips forms a remote catheter-based transmission cell. Our method applies Twersky's theory, in which absorption and scattering can be treated independently. Fresh rabbit blood was pumped through a disk oxygenator in which gas exchange occurred and passed the catheter. Simultaneous results obtained by the catheter and a cuvette oximeter were excellent (r = 0.99, SD = 1.1%). Oxygen saturation measured by this catheter was independent of vessel wall artifacts, blood pH, and flow velocity. Another application of this method is measurement of blood flow by the dye- (indocyanine green) dilution technique. The results of flow measurements by the catheter appeared to be satisfactory (r = 0.99, SD = 1.7%). This study concludes that our method is effective for monitoring the balance between regional oxygen supply and demand.