SOLID-STATE CLINICAL GAS ANALYZER

A SMALLER, LIGHTER, MORE EFFICIENT, AND MORE RELIABLE CLINICAL GAS ANALYZER FOR RESPIRATORY AND ANESTHETIC GAS MONITORING IS NEEDED. EXISTING LASER RAMAN-BASED INSTRUMENTATION USES A LARGE, HEAVY, AND EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT (0.1 PERCENT) ARGON ION LASER WITH AN INTRACAVITY GAS CELL. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDYIS TO IMPLEMENT A SOLID-STATE ALTERNATIVE TO THE EXISTING ION LASER. SUCH A LASER IS SMALLER, LIGHTER, MUCH MORE EFFICIENT, AND HAS LIFETIMES GREATLY EXCEEDING THAT OF THE PRESENT LASER. THE PROJECT GOALS ARE TO: (1) GUILD A PROTOTYPE UTILIZING THE SOLID-STATE LASER, WHICH PUMPS A PASSIVE EXTERNAL CAVITYCONTAINING A MULTICHANNEL GAS CELL, SELECTED SPECIFIC DIELECTRIC INTERFERENCE FILTERS FOR REJECTION OF THE ELASTICSCATTERED LASER LIGHT AND TRANSMISSION OF GAS-SPECIFIC RAMANLINES, AND SOLID-STATE PHOTODETECTORS; (2) EVALUATE THE PROTOTYPE FOR ACCURACY, LINEARITY, SENSITIVITY, PRECISION, STABILITY, AND INTERFERENCE BETWEEN VARIOUS ANESTHETIC AND RESPIRATORY GASES; AND (3) VALIDATE THE PROTOTYPE FEASIBILITY BY COMPARING THE SIGNAL LEVELS FOR PURE GASES TO THOSE CALCULATED ON THE BASIS OF A SYSTEM MODELING EQUATION.