Optoacoustic technique for noninvasive, real-time monitoring of cerebral blood oxygenation

We proposed to monitor cerebral blood oxygenation by measuring optoacoustic waves induced in the superior sagittal sinus (SSS), a large central cerebral vein. We performed in vitro and in vivo in sheep testing of the optoacoustic technique that accurately measures blood oxygenation by using the well-established differences in the optical absorption coefficients of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin in the near IR spectral range. Laser optoacoustics overcomes the problem of loss of diagnostic information due to strong light scattering that inevitably complicates pure optical techniques.