Spectral and Spatial Dependence of Diffuse Optical Signals in Response to Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
Date
2010-9-16
Authors
Chen, Debbie K.
Erb, M. Kelley
Tong, Yunjie
Yu, Yang
Sassaroli, Angelo
Bergethon, Peter R.
Fantini, Sergio
Version
OA Version
Citation
Chen, Debbie K., M. Kelley Erb, Yunjie Tong, Yang Yu, Angelo Sassaroli, Peter R. Bergethon, Sergio Fantini. "Spectral and spatial dependence of diffuse optical signals in response to peripheral nerve stimulation" Biomedical Optics Express 1(3): 923-942. (2010)
Abstract
Using non-invasive, near-infrared spectroscopy we have previously reported optical signals measured at or around peripheral nerves in response to their stimulation. Such optical signals featured amplitudes on the order of 0.1% and peaked about 100 ms after peripheral nerve stimulation in human subjects. Here, we report a study of the spatial and spectral dependence of the optical signals induced by stimulation of the human median and sural nerves, and observe that these optical signals are: (1) unlikely due to either dilation or constriction of blood vessels, (2) not associated with capillary bed hemoglobin, (3) likely due to blood vessel(s) displacement, and (4) unlikely due to fiber-skin optical coupling effects. We conclude that the most probable origin of the optical response to peripheral nerve stimulation is from displacement of blood vessels within the optically probed volume, as a result of muscle twitch in adjacent areas.
Description
License
Copyright 2010 Optical Society of America This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which permits download and redistribution, provided that the original work is properly cited. This license restricts the article from being modified or used commercially.