INVESTIGATION OF FIBER OPTIC PCO2 SENSORS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

RESEARCH ON BIOMEDICAL PCO2 SENSORS BASES ON ADVANCED FIBER OPTIC TECHNOLOGY ARE HEREIN PROPOSED IN ANSWER TO THE NEED FOR A MINIATURE SIZE SENSOR FOR IN-VIVO APPLICATIONS AS WELLAS A RAPID RESPONSE TIME FOR REAL TIME MEASUREMENTS. RESEARCH WILL FOCUS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A READY TO USE PCO2 ANALYSIS SYSTEM WHICH PERFORMS REAL TIME, IN-VIVO, CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF PCO2 IN PHYSIOLOGICAL CONCENTRATIONRANGES. THE RESEARCH EFFORTS WILL BE DIRECTED TOWARD THE OPTIMIZATION OF THE CHOICE OF POLYMER/DYE MATRICES, IN TERMSOF NOT ONLY RESPONSE TIME, WHICH IS ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL PARAMETERS, BUT ALSO, SENSITIVITY, RELIABILITY, STABILITY, SELECTIVITY, AND AGING. THE MINIATURE SIZE OF THE SENSORS WILL BE PRESERVED BY EMPLOYING THE DESIGN IN WHICH THE SENSOR CHEMISTRY IS COVALENTLY BOUND DIRECTLY TO THE FIBER TIP. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO PROMOTE THE FIBER OPTIC PCO2 SENSING TECHNIQUES FROM A MERE LABORATORY DEVELOPMENT INTO ITS FULL POTENTIAL FOR CLINICAL APPLICATIONS.