Second derivative multispectral algorithm for quantitative assessment of cutaneous tissue oxygenation

We report a second derivative multispectral algorithm for quantitative assessment of cutaneous tissue oxygen saturation (StO₂). The algorithm is based on a forward model of light transport in multilayered skin tissue and an inverse algorithm for StO₂ reconstruction. Based on the forward simulation results, a parameter of a second derivative ratio (SDR) is derived as a function of cutaneous tissue StO₂. The SDR function is optimized at a wavelength set of 544, 552, 568, 576, 592, and 600 nm so that cutaneous tissue StO₂ can be derived with minimal artifacts by blood concentration, tissue scattering, and melanin concentration. The proposed multispectral StO₂ imaging algorithm is verified in both benchtop and in vivo experiments. The experimental results show that the proposed multispectral imaging algorithm is able to map cutaneous tissue StO₂ in high temporal resolution with reduced measurement artifacts induced by different skin conditions in comparison with other three commercial tissue oxygen measurement systems. These results indicate that the multispectral StO₂ imaging technique has the potential for noninvasive and quantitative assessment of skin tissue oxygenation with a high temporal resolution.