Measuring Suite for Vascular Response Monitoring during Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy by Means of Pulse Transit Time (PTT) Analysis

Abstract

The efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in treating wound healing disorders is well established. The obvious explanation is the presence of elevated oxygen tissue tensions during the high-pressure oxygen exposure. This explanation omits that the effective agent, elevated oxygen tension, is only present for 6.25% of the time. To investigate possible prevailing vascular changes caused by HBOT, the presented device monitors the vascular response during therapy by Pulse-Transit-Time analysis. The device allows synchronous 1 kHz ECG and PPG measurements. The data are stored in a 1 GBit flash drive and retrieved post-therapy. Normoxic measurements on the authors with and without nicotine validate the device’s functionality. Measurements during HBO therapy have been successfully performed.