Wearable wireless real-time cerebral oximeter for measuring regional cerebral oxygen saturation

Monitoring regional cerebral oxygen saturation throughout the perioperative clinical process is important for successful patient outcomes. Cerebral oximeters based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) have already been used for monitoring brain oxygenation and hemodynamics to avoid intraoperative ischemic stroke and reduce postoperative cognitive dysfunction. The current devices are all designed to be used as a bedside monitor, limiting their use to situations that center around a hospital bed. There is a current lack of wearable, miniaturized, wireless equipment that can extend brain oxygenation monitoring to motion tasks or tight spaces. We design a head-mounted wearable wireless oxygen saturation monitoring on head (WORTH) band based on NIRS for monitoring regional cerebral oxygen saturation. The band is embedded with a highly integrated central block, which comprises an optical module, a microprocessor unit, a wireless communication module, and a power management module. The performance of the WORTH band is evaluated by a controlled hypoxia experiment and a squat-to-stand experiment. The results confirm that the WORTH band can record cerebral oxygen saturation with an accuracy comparable to that of a clinical monitor and demonstrate that it is also effective during motion tasks.