2012

My master graduation project is “Design a cellular oxygen consumption measurement device for the diagnosis of Sepsis”. The device makes use of a optical measurement method that is developed by Erasmus MC.

Sepsis is a very serious condition in which 30 to 40 percent of the patients will die because of an organ dysfunction which is caused by a low energy production in a later stage of this disease. Currently, physicians diagnose Sepsis and its different stages based on several symptoms such as a fever, low blood pressure and a high heart rate combined with results from laboratory tests.

The current treatment of Sepsis is only focused on improving the oxygen supply, however the problem might also be the oxygen consumption in the cells. As the Sepsis condition becomes more severe the effectiveness of this treatment decreases and might even become harmful. It is therefore important to determine the actual cause of the low energy production.

The anaesthesiology department of Erasmus MC (University Medical Centre Rotterdam) is developing a technique which can fulfill this need. The measurement technique is able to measure the oxygen consumption in cells from the skin surface. It mainly uses the “oxygen-dependent delayed fluorescence” property of an element called protoporphyrin IX (PpIX).

When illumunated by a laser light pulse, accumulated PpIX inside the skin cell will send a light pulse back. Since PpIX reacts with oxygen in the cells, the duration of this delayed fluorescence effect depends on the available oxygen pressure. A higher oxygen pressure results in a shorter fluorescence period.