Cellular oximetry

Photonics Healthcare develops the first clinical monitor for cellular function.

Patient monitoring facilities in hospitals measure the supply of oxygen to tissue. This is essential, but does not provide information about the actual oxygen consumption. The assumption that supply equals consumption does not always hold on the level of individual tissues. Cellular respiration can also be affected by other factors than supply, notably for patients in critical care. In many circumstances direct information about cellular oxygen consumption is of vital importance, but not yet clinically available.

It is now possible to measure cellular respiratory function at the bedside. To obtain specific, quantitative information about our cell’s use of energy and about its local or systemic alterations in real-time. A noninvasive optical measurement provides key parameters of cellular metabolism: local mitochondrial oxygen tension, consumption and affinity.

Doctors, for the first time, will be able to monitor vital cellular functions of their patients. This will allow them to individualize and control treatments, to establish diagnoses and to directly assess tissue function and viability, saving costs and lives.