Methods, systems, and related computer program products for optically monitoring a chromophore level in a body part of a patient are described. An optical source introduces optical radiation into the body part, and an optical detector receives optical radiation that has propagated through at least a portion of the body part and produces a first signal representative of the received optical radiation. The first signal is processed to produce a chromophore level metric, which is output on a user display, and is further processed to produce a second signal known to exhibit measurably significant timewise fluctuations corresponding to at least one intrinsic physiological oscillation of the patient when the optical source and the optical detector are in proper optical coupling with the body part. An error condition indication is provided if the measurably significant timewise fluctuations are not present in the second signal.
IMPROVED RESULT VALIDATION IN NON-INVASIVE CEREBRAL OXYGENATION LEVEL MONITORING