SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS FOR PERFORMING TRANSABDOMINAL FETAL OXIMETRY AND/OR TRANSABDOMINAL FETAL PULSE OXIMETRY USING TWO TYPES OF OPTICAL MEASUREMENTS MODALITIES
Fetal oximetry information may be determined using a plurality of different types of measurement systems and/or calculation techniques. In some instances, a first measurement system may be used to interrogate maternal abdominal tissue to determine one or more characteristics thereof. Then, a second measurement system may be used to interrogate the pregnant mammal's abdominal tissue as well as fetal tissue and the characteristics of the maternal tissue determined using measurements of the first system may be used to process the measurements obtained using the second system to, for example, increase the accuracy of the processing of the measurements from the second system.
1 . A method for transabdominally determining fetal oximetry information, the method comprising:
receiving, by a processor, a time resolved signal corresponding to emanating from a pregnant mammal's abdomen;
determining, by the processor, a characteristic of the pregnant mammal's tissue using the received time resolved signal;
receiving, by the processor, one or more continuous wave signals corresponding to light emanating from the pregnant mammal's abdomen;
determining, by the processor, fetal oximetry information using the one or more continuous wave signals and the characteristic of the pregnant mammal's tissue; and
providing, by the processor, the fetal oximetry information to a display device.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the processor, a measurement of a depth of the fetus at a position corresponding to a component of the time resolved sensor system, wherein determining the characteristic of the pregnant mammal's tissue further uses the received measurement of fetal depth.
3 . The method of claim 1 or 2 , further comprising:
receiving, by the processor, a measurement of a depth of the fetus at a position corresponding to a component of the continuous wave sensor system, wherein determining the fetal oximetry information further uses the received measurement of fetal depth.
4 . The method of any of claims 1-3 , wherein the fetal oximetry information is at least one of a fetal hemoglobin oxygen saturation level and a fetal tissue oxygenation level.
5 . The method of any of claims 1-4 , wherein the time resolved signal corresponds to light of a wavelength greater than 805 nm and light of a wavelength less than 805 nm.
6 . The method of any of claims 1-5 , wherein one or more continuous wave signals include a first continuous wave signal that corresponds to light of a wavelength greater than 805 nm and a second continuous wave signal that corresponds to light of a wavelength less than 805 nm.
7 . The method of any of claims 1-6 , wherein a position of the time resolved sensor system on the pregnant mammal's abdomen when the light emanates from the pregnant mammal's abdomen and is detected by the time resolved sensor system is proximate to a position of the continuous wave measurement device on the pregnant mammal's abdomen when the light emanates from the pregnant mammal's abdomen and is detected by the continuous wave measurement device.
8 . The method of any of claims 1-7 , wherein a position of the time resolved sensor system on the pregnant mammal's abdomen when the light emanates from the pregnant mammal's abdomen and is detected by the time resolved sensor system is the same as the position of the continuous wave measurement device on the pregnant mammal's abdomen when the light emanates from the pregnant mammal's abdomen and is detected by the continuous wave measurement device.
9 . The method of any of claims 1-8 , wherein the time resolved sensor system interrogates maternal tissue through which light emitted by the continuous wave measurement device passes.
10 . The method of any of claims 1-9 , wherein the time resolved sensor system interrogates maternal tissue proximate to maternal tissue through which light emitted by the continuous wave measurement device passes.
11 . The method of any of claims 1-10 , further comprising:
determining a characteristic of the fetal tissue.
12 . The method of any of claims 1-11 , wherein the continuous wave sensor system interrogates fetal tissue through which light emitted by the continuous wave measurement device passes.
13 . The method of any of claims 1-12 , wherein the time resolved sensor system is at least one of a frequency domain sensor system and a time-of-flight sensor system.
14 . A system comprising:
a processor in communication with a memory; and
the memory, the memory being configured to store a set of instructions thereon,
which when executed by the processor cause the processor to execute any of the methods of claims 1 - 13 .
15 . A patient interface configured to cooperate with a transabdominal sensor that includes a light source and a plurality of detectors, each detector of the plurality of detectors including a light detecting surface, the patient interface comprising:
a sheet of flexible material, the sheet comprising:
a plurality of detector openings, a size and position of each detector opening of the plurality of detector openings corresponding to a size and position of a light detecting surface of a respective one of the plurality of detectors; and
a light source opening, a size and position of the light source opening corresponding to a size and position of the light source.
16 . The patient interface of claim 15 , wherein the transabdominal sensor is a transabdominal fetal oximetry sensor.
17 . The patient interface of claim 15 or 16 , wherein the transabdominal sensor is at least one of a frequency domain sensor system, a time-of-flight sensor system, a continuous wave sensor system, and a multi-function transabdominal fetal oximetry sensor.
18 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-17 , further comprising:
a ring configured to align with an outer edge of the patient interface and fit over an outer edge of a patient-facing side of the transabdominal sensor, thereby preventing ambient light from entering a side of the transabdominal sensor when positioned on a pregnant mammal's abdomen.
19 . The patient interface any of claims 15-18 , further comprising:
an adhesive configured to stick to a pregnant mammal's abdomen.
20 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-19 , wherein at least one of the detector openings is covered with a transparent material in a watertight manner.
21 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-20 , wherein at least one of the detector openings are covered with a material that filters light of undesired wavelengths.
22 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-21 , wherein the sheet of flexible material is configured to form a tight optical couple between a pregnant mammal's abdomen and the transabdominal sensor.
23 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-22 , wherein the sheet of flexible material is configured to prevent shunting light from an optical source of the transabdominal sensor directly to a detector of the transabdominal sensor without passing through tissue of a pregnant mammal's abdomen on which the transabdominal sensor is positioned.
24 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-23 , wherein the patient interface is configured to cooperate with the transabdominal sensor by being removably affixed thereto.
25 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-24 , wherein the patient interface is configured to be removably attached to transabdominal sensor and to remain on a pregnant mammal's abdomen when the transabdominal sensor is removed from the patient interface.
26 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-25 , wherein the patient interface further includes an optical blanket configured to cover a portion of a pregnant mammal's abdomen proximate to the transabdominal sensor and prevent ambient light from entering the covered portion of the pregnant mammal's abdomen.
27 . The patient interface of claim 26 , wherein the optical blanket includes an opening sized, shaped, arranged, and configured to cooperate with the patient interface.
28 . The patient interface of claim 26 or 27 , wherein the optical blanket includes an attachment mechanism configured to attach to the transabdominal sensor.
29 . The patient interface of any of claims 15-28 , wherein the transabdominal sensor is configured to transabdominally obtain optical signals that may be processed to determine transabdominal fetal oximetry information.
30 . A method of using a patient interface comprising:
affixing a patient interface to an epidermis of a pregnant mammal's abdomen above a fetus positioned within, the patient interface including a sheet of flexible material that includes a light source opening and a plurality of detector openings; and
positioning a transabdominal sensor that includes a light source and a plurality of detectors proximate to the patient interface so that the light source aligns with the light source opening in the patient interface and each of the plurality of detectors aligns with a respective detector window of the patient interface.
31 . The method of claim 30 , further comprising attaching the transabdominal sensor to the patient interface.