A low-cost transmittance transducer for measurement of blood oxygen saturation in extracorporeal circuits

Designs for a low-cost dual wavelength transducer based on light transmittance and a disposable cuvette for monitoring oxygen saturation (SO2) in extracorporeal arterial and venous blood are presented. The transducer utilizes red and infrared light-emitting diodes and a large photodiode; it is designed to attach to a flow-through cuvette modified from 3/8-in x3/8-in bypass-circuit connectors. A mock extracorporeal circulation system was assembled to evaluate operation of the transducer at a controlled blood SO2 and the relationship between light transmittance and hemodilution. SO2 was calculated based on multiple linear regression analyses. The results show a high correlation between the SO2 obtained with the equipment designed and values measured with commercial gasometric equipment in the range of 50% to 100% (r2 = 0.976, error <2%). The method presented allows continuous and real time measurement of whole blood SO2 with a low-cost transmittance transducer.