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Optical detection of pulpal blood
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Optical detection of pulpal blood

Ana M Diaz-Arnold, Lisa R Wilcox and Mark A Arnold
Journal of endodontics, Vol.20(4), pp.164-168
1994
DOI: 10.1016/S0099-2399(06)80327-4
PMID: 8035154

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Abstract

An optical system to assess blood within the pulpal cavity was developed. The system included a lightemitting diode source, human incisor teeth, and a silicon photodiode detector. An automated syringe pump was used to flow bovine blood length-wise through the teeth. Transmitted light intensities were recorded at a collection frequency of 20 readings/min and apparent absorbance units were calculated. The effects of blood concentration, blood flow rate, and pulp chamber size were investigated. It was found that changes in blood flow rate did not cause significant changes in transmitted light intensity. Increases in blood concentration and pulp chamber size resulted in larger absorbance values. These results suggest that photoplethysmography measurements may be sensitive to the amount of blood in the pulp chamber as it reflects the pulsatile-related expansion and contraction of capillaries within the pulp tissue.

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