Measurement of percent oxyhemoglobin in the microvasculature

A new method is applied to the determination of percent oxyhemoglobin (percent saturation) in whole blood. The method is based on a theoretical treatment of light absorption and scattering by particulate suspensions and requires the measurement of optical densities (D) of blood at three closely spaced wavelengths. The optical density of red blood cell (RBC) suspensions was measured with a video microdensitometer and a linear relationship was found between percent saturation and the corrected optical density ratio, (D555 B)/(D546 B). For a given saturation, this ratio was independent of optical path length (12 mum-2 mm), hematocrit (3-50%), and RBC velocity (1.5-17 mm/s). The applicability to microvascular measurements has been assessed through the use of TV microdensitometry on micropipettes with flowing RBCs and on microvessels in the hamster cheek pouch.