A multiwavelength VIS-NIR spectrometer for pulsatile measurement of hemoglobin derivatives in whole blood

Describes a pulsatile multiwavelength visible-near infrared spectrometer system for investigating the possibility of measuring selected hemoglobin derivatives in flowing whole blood. The system, which is based on a compact size diode array spectrometer, is designed to acquire the pulsatile and non-pulsatile components of the photoplethysmogram from a peripheral vascular tissue bed. The system was evaluated in a series of in vitro studies to assess the feasibility of monitoring simultaneously arterial blood oxygen saturation, carboxyhemoglobin, and methemoglobin.