S(VO)2 monitoring.

nurse specialist at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Wash. lengths in the red and infrared spectra through an optical fiber to illuminate the blood. The red blood cells absorb various amounts of light depending on the amounts of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin that are present. The light reflected by the blood cells is transmitted through a second optical fiber to the photodetector, which converts light intensity into electrical signals for transmission to the microprocessor. After the microprocessor receives the electrical signals, the light intensities from oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin are analyzed by detecting color changes in the red blood cells, and a ratio is computed. The SVO2 value that is displayed on the oscilloscope represents a composite of measurements of multiple samples and is updated every few seconds. monitoring capabilities in addition to fiber optics for transmitting light (Figure 1), an optical module that contains a light-emitting source and a photodetector, and a microprocessor to analyze reflected light. Reflectance spectrophotometry is used to differentiate oxygenated blood from deoxygenated blood in the PA. From the distal end of the PA catheter, light-emitting diodes transmit pulsating light of various waveProtocolsforPractice