Contact, high-resolution spatial diffuse reflectance imaging system for skin condition diagnosis: a first-in-human...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Optical Sensing
• Physiological Monitoring

Background:

• Skin tissue oxygenation is a critical physiological parameter for patient care.
• Long-term monitoring of skin oxygenation is essential both in clinical settings and for remote patient management.
• Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a valuable technique for assessing tissue oxygenation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an affordable, wearable system for continuous, in-contact measurement of skin physiological parameters.
• To enable long-term, bedside, and out-of-hospital monitoring of tissue oxygen saturation (StO2).

Main Methods:

• Development of a low-cost, wearable device utilizing CMOS technology.
• Implementation of an innovative method for processing diffuse reflectance spectroscopy data to determine StO2.
• Validation of the device through a first-in-human clinical trial.

Main Results:

• The developed sensor was tested for tissue oxygenation assessment in a clinical trial.
• The device demonstrated good agreement with established commercial monitoring devices.
• The system proved effective for real-time StO2 measurement in a human study.

Conclusions:

• The proposed low-cost, wearable sensor is a viable tool for monitoring skin tissue oxygenation.
• The device offers a reliable alternative to commercial systems for long-term StO2 assessment.
• This technology has the potential to improve patient care through continuous physiological monitoring.