Brain oxygen monitoring: in-vitro accuracy, long-term drift and response-time of Licox- and Neurotrend sensors

Background. Oxygen tension sensors have been used to monitor tissue oxygenation in human brain for several years. The working principals of the most frequently used sensors, the Licox (LX) and Neurotrend (NT), are different, and they have never been validated independently for correct measurement in vitro. Therefore, we tried to clarify if the two currently available sensors provide sufficient accuracy and stability.

Method. 12 LX oxygen tension sensors and NT sensors were placed into a liquid-filled tonometer chamber. The solution was kept at 37 ± 0.2°C and equilibrated with five calibration gases...