Continuous monitoring of gastric carbon dioxide with optical fibres

An optical fibre sensor for the continuous monitoring of gastric carbon dioxide is described, based on the utilisation of a sensing layer, in which the colour of the layer is dependent on the CO₂ concentration. The CO₂-sensitive layer consists basically of a dye/quaternary ammonium ion pair, dissolved in a thin layer of ethylcellulose. The sensor was thoroughly characterised in laboratory and its performances were compared with those of Tonocap, the instrument based on gastric tonometry, which is the present method for detecting partial pressure of gastric carbon dioxide. Its measurement range, 0–150 h Pa, its accuracy, ±2.5 h Pa, and its response time, less than 1 min, were capable of satisfying the physicians’ requirements for clinical application. The clinical tests, carried out on volunteers and on intensive care patients, showed that the developed sensor is definitely superior to the sensor that is at present available on the market: thanks to its short response time, the optical fibre sensor is able to detect rapid changes in pCO₂, currently unknown because of the lack of a tool with which to measure them.