Abstract
There are many pigments within living tissue. The color varies according to the function of the tissue andthe condition of the disease. One method of quantitatively measuring this change and obtaining useful informationfor medical diagnosis is to project light onto the tissue and then conduct spectral analysis of the reflected light. Through the use of tissue spectrum analysis, we have been able to measure the ratio (called saturation O2) of hemoglobin combined with oxygen to the total hemoglobin content in the blood. Its usefulness has been provenin the diagnosis of the existence and stage of such diseases as chronic interstitial hepatitis and gastrohelcoma, and for the monitoring of the fetus' respiratory condition during delivery. The use of this method is in theprocess of being confirmed for experimentation in other fields.
