Peripheral venous blood oxygen saturation can be non-invasively estimated using photoplethysmography

Measurement of peripheral venous oxygen saturation (SvO₂) is currently performed using invasive catheters or direct blood draw. The purpose of this study was to non-invasively determine SvO₂ using a variation of pulse oximetry techniques. Artificial respiration-like modulations applied to the peripheral vascular system were used to infer regional SvO₂ using photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors. To achieve this modulation, an artificial pulse generating system (APG) was developed to generate controlled, superficial perturbations on the finger using a pneumatic digit cuff. These low pressure and low frequency modulations affect blood volumes in veins to a much greater extent than arteries due to significant arterial-venous compliance differences. Ten healthy human volunteers were recruited for proof-ofconcept testing. The APG was set at a modulation frequency of 0.2 Hz (12 bpm) and 45-50 mmHg compression pressure. Initial analysis showed that induced blood volume changes in the venous compartment could be detected by PPG. Estimated arterial oxygen saturation (97% [IQR=96.1%-97.4%]) matches published values (95%-99%). Estimated venous oxygen saturation (93.2% [IQR=91.-93.9%]) agrees with reported ranges (92%-95%) measured in peripheral regions. The median difference between the two saturations was 3.6%, while the difference between paired measurements in each subject was statistically significant (p=0.002). These results demonstrate the feasibility of this method for real-time, low cost, non-invasive estimation of SvO₂. Further validation of this method is warranted.