INDIA INK - A POTENTIAL CLINICALLY APPLICABLE EPR OXIMETRY PROBE

Using a material that already is in widespread use in humans, India in k, the first EPR measurements in a human have been made, using the Ind ia ink in a pre-existing tattoo. The EPR spectra of India ink are very sensitive to the partial pressure of oxygen (pO(2)), thereby making i t feasible to use this approach to measure pO(2) in tissues in patient s. This potentially provides a means to measure this parameter directl y with a sensitivity, accuracy, and repeatability that have not been a vailable previously, and thereby to be able to individualize and guide treatment of diseases such as cancer and peripheral vascular insuffic iency.