Transmission of slow waves in Masimo O3 near infrared spectroscopy measures

Introduction Cerebral autoregulation (CA) dysfunction is a key complication following brain injury. CA assessment using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) offers a promising alternative to the current non-invasive standard, cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) measured with transcranial Doppler. Research question Can autoregulatory slow waves (frequency range 0.005–0.05 Hz) associated with spontaneous and induced changes in ABP in healthy volunteers be detected by parameters measured with the Masimo O3 NIRS device? Methods ABP, CBFV and Masimo O3 parameters were measured in 10 healthy volunteers at baseline and during ABP oscillations induced by squat/stand manoeuvres. Transmission of slow waves was assessed with power spectral density and coherence analysis in NIRS signals and compared to that of CBFV. Results At baseline, slow waves were detected with sufficient power that substantially exceeded the signals’ measurement resolution in all parameters except cerebral oxygen saturation. During ABP oscillations in the 0.033 Hz range (induced by squat/stand), the power of slow waves increased in all parameters in a similar pattern, with total (cHb) and oxygenated (O2Hb) haemoglobin concentrations most closely mirroring CBFV (median standardised power [first-third quartile], baseline vs squat/stand: CBFV 0.35 [0.28–0.42] vs 0.50 [0.45–0.62], O2Hb 0.47 [0.33–0.68] vs 0.61 [0.59–0.69]). Coherence with ABP increased for both CBFV and NIRS measures from low at baseline (<0.4) to high during induced changes (>0.8). Conclusion Spontaneous fluctuations in ABP can be observed in analysed Masimo O3 metrics to a varying degree. The clinical utility of Masimo O3 signals in CA assessment requires further investigation in brain injury patients.