A Novel Photoplethysmography Sensor for Vital Signs Monitoring from the Human Trachea
Open accessAbstract
Current pulse oximeter sensors can be challenged in working accurately and continuously in situations of reduced periphery perfusion, especially among anaesthetised patients. A novel tracheal photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor has been developed in an effort to address the limitations of current pulse oximeters. The sensor has been designed to estimate oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rate, and has been manufactured on a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) that can adhere to a standard endotracheal (ET) tube. A pilot clinical trial was carried out as a feasibility study on 10 anaesthetised patients. Good quality PPGs from the trachea were acquired at red and infrared wavelengths in all patients. The mean SpO2 reading for the ET tube was 97.1% (SD 1.0%) vs. the clinical monitor at 98.7% (SD 0.7%). The mean pulse rate for the ET sensor was 65.4 bpm (SD 10.0 bpm) vs. the clinical monitor at 64.7 bpm (SD 9.9 bpm). This study supports the hypothesis that the human trachea could be a suitable monitoring site of SpO2 and other physiological parameters, at times where the periphery circulation might be compromised.
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Peripheral vasoconstriction can result in low-quality PPG signals.
“Peripheral vasoconstriction can also result in low-quality signals [52].”
From Wearable Photoplethysmography for Cardiovascular Monitoring (2022) · cites this paper as [52]
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- Authors
- May, J. M., Phillips, J. P., Fitchat, T., Ramaswamy, S., Snidvongs, S., & Kyriacou, P. A.
- Affiliations
- City, University of London (GB)
- Barts Health NHS Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- May, James M.
- Venue
- Biosensors
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2019-10-02
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 119
- ISSN
- 2079-6374 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6956046
- OpenAlex
- W2978363524
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 0.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Biosensors (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- City Research Online (City University London) (acceptedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Barts Charity (832/2130)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Non-Invasive Vital Sign Monitoring
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Hemodynamic Monitoring and Therapy
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Bioengineering › Analytical Chemistry and Sensors
- Keywords
- pulse oximetry, endotracheal tube, pulse rate monitoring, anaesthetised patients, vital signs monitoring
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Monitoring, Physiologic, Oximetry, Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted, Trachea, Biosensing Techniques, Photoplethysmography, Vital Signs
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