Relationship Between Signals from Cerebral near Infrared Spectroscopy Sensor Technology and Objectively Measured Cerebral Blood Volume: A Systematic Scoping Review

TL;DR

This review explores whether signals from a non-invasive NIRS sensor can reliably estimate cerebral blood volume, finding inconsistent evidence and highlighting the need for more research.

Contribution

The paper systematically reviews the current literature to assess the relationship between NIRS signals and cerebral blood volume, revealing a critical knowledge gap.

Findings

There is extreme variation in the reported associations between NIRS signals and cerebral blood volume.

Few studies have objectively documented a true statistical relationship between NIRS signals and CBV.

The review emphasizes the need for further research to clarify the potential of NIRS for CBV estimation.

Abstract

Cerebral blood volume (CBV) is an essential metric that indicates and evaluates various healthy and pathologic conditions. Most methods of CBV measurement are cumbersome and have a poor temporal resolution. Recently, it has been proposed that signals and derived metrics from cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a non-invasive sensor, can be used to estimate CBV. However, this association remains vastly unexplored. As such, this scoping review aimed to examine the literature on the relationship between cerebral NIRS signals and CBV. A search of six databases was conducted conforming to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to assess the following search question: What are the associations between various NIRS cerebral signals and CBV? The database search yielded 3350 unique results. Seven of these articles were included in this review based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. An additional study was identified and included while examining the articles’ reference sections. Overall, the literature for this systematic scoping review shows extreme variation in the association between cerebral NIRS signals and CBV, with few sources objectively documenting a true statistical association between the two. This review highlights the current critical knowledge gap and emphasizes the need for further research in the area.

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