Optimization of continuous-wave NIRS devices for placental monitoring. A simulation study

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an optical technique that is widely used to monitor tissue oxygenation. These devices take advantage of the near infrared light to monitor deep tissues like brain, muscle or placenta. In this study, we developed a Monte Carlo framework to evaluate the sensitivity of continuous-wave (CW) NIRS devices for monitoring the placenta which a deep layer in the maternal abdomen. This framework can be used to optimize CW-NIRS acquisition parameters (integration time, source detector separation) before going into clinical applications.