The feasibility of multi-wavelength photoplethysmography for the real-time sensing of absorptive and scattering agents in pulsatile blood is discussed. The use of pulsatile signals extracted from trans-illumination of an accessible section of tissue allows us to calculate the concentration of the optically extinctive species in the pulsatile blood. This technology, initially used for pulse oximetry and dye densitometry, can be applied to monitor in vivo concentration and clearance of various absorptive species. Recently, our prototype has been used monitor the concentration of therapeutic gold nanoparticles, antimalarial quinine, and the antifungal agent amphotericin B. The assessment of the optical properties, device specifications, and signal quality for each compound are presented. We observe that this technology can be used to monitor numerous extinctive drug and nano-materials that present features in the 350-1100 nm range. The rationale for using this technology in a clinical setting would be to improve outcomes by real-time pharmacological feedback and/or control at point of care in addition to the elimination of invasive blood draws for collection of data.
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