Time-Domain Analysis of Low- and High-Frequency Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Sensor Technologies for Characterization of Cerebral Pressure–Flow and Oxygen Delivery Physiology: A Prospective Observational Study

Cerebrovascular reactivity, cerebral autoregulation (CA), and oxygen delivery can be measured continuously and in a non-invasive fashion using cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Although the literature is limited surrounding the difference between signals acquired and derived from low (<100 Hz) and high sampling rates (≥100 Hz). As part of a prospective observational study, we preliminarily explored and assessed the difference in the information provided by two NIRS systems using regional cerebral oxygen saturation and cerebral oximetry index signals at low and high sampling rates. The raw data in two frequencies (down-sampled to 1 Hz using the mean and up-sampled to 250 Hz) were decimated to focus on slow-wave vasogenic fluctuations associated with CA. Then, the data were analyzed using various statistical methods such as the absolute signal difference, Pearson correlation, Bland-Altman agreement, Cross-correlation function, optimal time-series autocorrelative structure, time-series impulse response function, and Granger causality relationships. The results of the various statistical analyses indicated that the signals obtained using high-frequency NIRS were different from signals obtained from low-frequency NIRS of the same cerebral region. Hence, high-frequency NIRS systems may possibly contain better signal features compared to NIRS systems with low sampling rates, but further work is required to assess high-frequency NIRS in other healthy and cranial trauma populations.