A miniature fiber optic pH sensor for physiological use

A flexible 0.4-mm-dia pH probe potentially suitable for physiological use has been developed. It is based on the concept of utilizing two single plastic fiber optic strands to illuminate and remotely sense the color change of a dye indicator contained within an acutely implanted sealed cellulosic hollow fiber permeable to hydrogen ions. A supporting electronic module provides tungsten filament illumination, light sensing with a photodiode/operational amplifier, analog and digital circuitry to provide appropriate signal averaging and processing, and a mechanical assembly to enable the optical density measurements to be made both at 560 nm and, for normalization purposes, in the red. Over the physiological pH range from 7.0 to 7.4, the fiber optic probe agrees with a standard glass pH electrode to within 0.01 pH units in buffer solutions, to within 0.017 pH units in heparinized dog blood in vitro, and it has performed successfully while implanted in the jugular vein of a sheep.