Impact of Skull Thickness on Cerebral NIRS Oximetry in Neonates: An in silico Study

• Published in: Advances in experimental medicine and biology Vol. 1232; pp. 33 - 38
• Main Authors: Ostojic, D., Jiang, J., Isler, H., Kleiser, S., Karen, T., Wolf, M., Scholkmann, F.
• Format: Book Chapter Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 2020
• Series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
• Subjects: Brain - metabolism; Cerebral oximetry; Humans; Hypoxia - diagnosis; Infant, Newborn; Neonates; NIRS; Oximetry - standards; Oxygen; Skull - anatomy & histology; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; Superficial layer thickness; Tissue oxygenation; NIRS; Neonates; Cerebral oximetry; Superficial layer thickness; Tissue oxygenation
• ISBN: 3030344592; 9783030344597
• ISSN: 0065-2598; 2214-8019
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-34461-0_5

Monitoring of cerebral tissue oxygen saturation (StO2) by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS oximetry) has great potential to reduce the incidence of hypoxic and hyperoxic events and thus prevent long-term disabilities in preterm neonates. Since the light has to penetrate superficial layers (bone, skin and cerebrospinal fluid) before it reaches the brain, the question arises whether these layers influence cerebral StO2 measurement. We assessed this influence on the accuracy of cerebral StO2 values. For that purpose, we simulated light propagation with ‘N-layered medium’ software. It was found that with a superficial layer thickness of ≤6 mm, typical for term and preterm neonates, StO2 accurately reflects cerebral tissue oxygenation.