Chassis-based fiber-coupled optical probe design for reproducible quantitative diffuse optical spectroscopy...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Non-invasive neuromonitoring of cerebral hemodynamics is crucial for critically ill patients.
• Current diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) probes face challenges in rapid, reproducible clinical application.
• Existing fiber-coupled probes are difficult to apply quickly in emergent situations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel chassis-based optical probe for DOS/DCS measurements.
• To assess the accuracy and reproducibility of the chassis-based probe compared to manual methods.
• To improve the clinical utility of optical neuromonitoring in critical care.

Main Methods:

• A novel chassis-based optical probe design with a detachable fiber housing and a 3D-printed chassis was developed.
• Cerebral hemodynamics (blood flow index, oxygen saturation, hemoglobin concentrations) were measured in pediatric swine (n=20).
• Measurements were compared between the chassis-based probe and manually held probes for accuracy and reproducibility (coefficient of variation).

Main Results:

• The chassis-based probe demonstrated comparable accuracy and reproducibility to manual measurements.
• No significant differences in absolute values or coefficient of variation (CV) were found between methods (p > 0.05).
• Blood flow index (BFI) showed significantly higher CV than oxygen saturation (StO2) regardless of probe application method (p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• The chassis-based DOS/DCS probe design enables rapid and reproducible attachment for neuromonitoring.
• This novel design offers a viable alternative to conventional manual probe alignment.
• The chassis-based probe has potential for clinical adaptation in pediatric critical care for non-invasive brain health monitoring.