Implantable pulse oximetry on subcutaneous tissue

Blood oxygen saturation is one of the most prominent measurement parameters in daily clinical routine. However up to now, it is not possible to continuously monitor this parameter reliably in mobile patients. High-risk patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases could benefit from long-term monitoring of blood oxygen saturation. In this paper, we present a minimally invasive, implantable patient monitor which is capable of monitoring vital signs. The capability of this multimodal sensor to subcutaneously determine blood pressure, pulse and ECG has been demonstrated earlier. This paper focuses on monitoring of blood oxygen saturation. Even though the signal amplitudes are much weaker than for standard extracorporeal measurements, photoplethysmographic signals were recorded with high quality in vivo directly on subcutaneous muscle tissue. For the first time, it has been shown that blood oxygen saturation can be measured with an implantable, but extravascular sensor. The sensor was implanted for two weeks in a sheep and did not cause any complications. This opens new perspectives for home monitoring of patients with cardiovascular diseases.