Presented here is a protocol for imaging and measurement of cerebrovascular reactivity in humans with functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). fNIRS is a novel imaging modality that captures the concentration changes of hemoglobin species in the brain’s outermost cortex under specific stimuli.
Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) is the capacity of blood vessels in the brain to alter cerebral blood flow (either with dilation or constriction) in response to chemical or physical stimuli. The amount of reactivity in the cerebral microvasculature depends on the integrity of the capacitance vasculature and is the primary function of endothelial cells. CVR is, therefore, an indicator of the microvasculature’s physiology and overall health. Imaging methods that can measure CVR are available but can be costly, and require magnetic resonance imaging centers and technical expertise. In this study, we used fNIRS technology to monitor changes of oxyhemoglobin (HbO) and deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) in the cerebral microvasculature to assess the CVR of 15 healthy controls (HC) in response to a vasoactive stimulus (inhaled 5% carbon dioxide or CO2). Our results suggest that this is a promising imaging technology that offers a non-invasive, accurate, portable, and cost-effective method of mapping cortical CVR and associated microvasculature function, resulting from a traumatic brain injury or other conditions associated with cerebral microvasculopathy.
Vascular health in the cerebral cortex can be measured via the vessels’ ability to constrict or dilate under varying physiological conditions. Measuring vascular reactivity can be useful in the diagnosis and management of neurological conditions associated with cerebral microvascular dysfunction, like dementia, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and even aging1,2,3,4. Additionally, CVR can be used as a predictive and/or pharmacodynamic biomarker for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's5 or TBI6,7,8,9,10. Well-established imaging methods exist to study CVR in human and animal subjects. A typical method includes functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in conjunction with an exogenous or endogenous stimulus, such as hypercapnia11, breath holding, or acetazolamide2. Lu et al.12,13 demonstrated that a simple gas delivery system coupled with MRI- Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (MRI-BOLD) imaging generates an accurate whole brain CVR maps.
Disruptions to the cerebral vasculature’s blood flow, volume, and metabolic rate of oxygen produces changes in the tissue concentrations of HbO and HbR. Tissue absorption of light at the near infrared range is sensitive to changes in the concentration of hemoglobin species, such as HbO and HbR. Therefore, measuring backscattered light over time can quantify changes of HbO and HbR concentration in the outermost cortex (approximately 2 cm)15, and can be used to assess temporal hemodynamic variations16 including cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR)17.
In our research paradigm, we employ the fNIRS instrument with continuous wave function. The device is composed of 4 sources and 10 detectors, which create 16 source-detector pairs (see Figure 1). The source-detector pairs are molded together onto a silicone strap that can easily be set over the forehead and held in place with self-adherent wrap. The device measures light intensity at 730 and 850 nm and has an acquisition frequency of 2 Hz. This system was selected because it is patient-friendly, easy to wear, and collects data from the prefrontal cortex, a brain region particularly vulnerable to TBI. Fortunately, most other fNIRS systems are compatible with our CVR acquisition technique, differing only in the cortical regions measured based on the brain area of interest.
While fMRI is considered the gold standard for functional brain imaging, fNIRS technology has unique advantages for assessing CVR in comparison to fMRI. The fNIRS imaging technique provides a high temporal resolution (with a granularity of milliseconds) and can quantify changes in both HbO and HbR concentration, while fMRI only measures changes in HbR18,19,20. Moreover, fNIRS instruments are portable, economical, and easier to operate than fMRI. Finally, fNIRS technology better resolves subject motion, which is necessary given that vascular challenges like hypercapnia are often used in combination with cognitive or physical study tasks21.
In this paper, a hypercapnia challenge, combined with fNIRS technology is presented. We measured CVR values and studied the reproducibility of this method, hoping to offer a reliable alternative to fMRI CVR measures.
The participants were recruited under an institutional review board approved protocol (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01789164). The equipment described in the protocol is ethically approved by our institution.
1. Prepare the Materials used for the Hypercapnia Challenge (Figure 2)
2. Procedures during the experiment
3. Clean up Procedures
4. Data analysis
fNIRS was performed with hypercapnia challenge on 15 healthy participants. Exclusion criteria were history of TBI, pre-existing disabling neurological or psychiatric disorders or pregnancy. The participants had a mean age of 37.7 ± 16 years (range 20-55) and 20% were female. As shown in a similar fMRI study28, a 60 s inhalation of 5% CO2 was accompanied by an increase in EtCO2 pressure as measured by capnography. In our study, the EtCO2 trace was accompanied by an increase of HbO and a decrease of HbR (Figure 4).
Physiologically, HbO and HbR are out of phase14. In Figure 4, which represents the fNIRS signal of one participant, we observed that the HbR signal precedes the HbO signal by 3.5 s (a precise measurement can be derived from the time shift for each signal). On an average, across all participants, it was observed that the HbO signal increases 2.3+ 2.6 s after the HbR signal decreases. This implied that the time shift for HbO and HbR were different and needed to be estimated before calculating a participant’s CVR. For this same reason, we also needed to estimate the time shift between the EtCO2 tracing and Hb-diff (the difference between HbO and HbR signals). The Hb-diff parameter gave us the strongest amplitude between the two conditions.
On an average, in our HC group, the increase of HbO appeared 2.3 + 2.6 s before the HbR decrease was noted. Because of this delay between HbO and HbR, the time shift between the EtCO2 tracing and HbO signal was not the same as the time shift between the EtCO2 tracing and HbR signal. In addition, also calculated was the time shift between the EtCO2 tracing and Hb-diff (difference between HbO and HbR signal). The Hb-diff parameter gave us the strongest amplitude between the two conditions.
After shifting the EtCO2 trace for HbO, HbR, and Hb-diff, we measured the Pearson correlation between the shifted EtCO2 traces and HbO, HbR, and Hb-diff. EtCO2 trace highly correlated with fNIRS signals (Pearson’s correlations of 0.94, -0.98 and 0.91 for HbO, HbR and Hb-diff, respectively; p<0.0001). (Figure 5).
We explored the CVR inter- and intra- variability between all 15 participants and all source/detector pairs. Averaging the CVR between the source/detector pair for each participant, we assessed the CVR from HbO, HbR, and Hb-diff (difference between HBO and HbR). On average between all participants, CVR values were 13.1 + 4.7 μM/mmHg using HbO, -14.6 + 10.2 μM/mmHg using HbR, and 12.4 + 3.7 μM/mmHg using Hb-diff (Table 1). Variability between the channels within each participant was also analyzed. On average, the intra-variability of CVR assessed with Hb-diff was lowest (30%), appeared to be the best parameter to investigate CVR using fNIRS.
Finally, we can overlay the CVR values on an anatomical template or directly on the structural image of the patient’s brain, as available for better visualization.27
Figure 1: Optical sensor pad schematic. It is composed of 4 sources (large red circles), and 10 detectors (small red dots), which form 16 source/detector pairs having 2.5 cm separation. The sensor pad is positioned on the volunteer’s forehead. The numbers indicate the position of the 16 source/detector pairs on the sensor. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Diagram of the Gas Delivery System. (1) Douglas bag. (2) Three-way valve. (3) Diaphragms. (4) Two-way non-rebreathing valve. (5) Gas delivery tube. (6) Mouthpiece. (7) Connector. (8) Gas sampling tube. (9) Hydrophobic filter. (10) EtCO2 monitor. (11) fNIRS system. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: Timing and marker of the breathing paradigm. Every minute, the three-way valve switched between the two gases. A marker signal was sent to the fNIRS software to sort each period with the appropriate gas inhalation. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: Example of HbO and HbR concentration measures under a 5% CO2 challenge of one participant. Each fNIRS curve is the average of 16 channels. The red curve represents the variation of HbO during 60s of room air and 60s under 5% of CO2. The blue curve represents the variation of HbR under the same conditions. The curves were time shifted in order to match the EtCO2 (black curve). Each HbO and HbR curves are the average of 3 challenges. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 5: Correlation between the EtCO2 and the HbO, HbR, oxygenation, in one channel for one participant. HbO, HbR and oxygenation were time shifted in order to temporally match the EtCO2 trace. Pearson’s correlations is 0.94, -0.98 and 0.91 for HbO, HbR and Hb-diff, respectively (p<0.0001 ) Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Mean CVR between patient | Variability between channels | |
HbO | 13.1 +/- 4.7 | 41% |
HbR | -14.6 +/- 10.2 | 85% |
Hb-diff (HbO-HbR) | 12.4 +/- 3.7 | 30% |
Table 1: Inter-subject and inter-channel variability of CVR values for 15 HC. CVR variability was calculated with 3 physiological signals: HbO, HbR and oxygenation (HbO-HbR).
We were able to measure CVR using fNIRS and a CO2 gas inhalation technique in 15 healthy volunteers. The CVR value measured is the correlation between the acquired fNIRS signal and the EtCO2. The challenge is to accurately align the temporal EtCO2 trace with the fNIRS signal, in other words, to account for the time that it takes for blood to travel from the pulmonary vascular system to the heart and then to the cerebral vasculature. The inter-channel variability is low (30%) and shows a uniform CVR value in the cortex which correlates with previous fMRI results12. Our data show the inter-participant variability in CVR among HC is lowest for the oxygenation signal but increases significantly when using HbO or HbR. For future group difference studies with HC, we recommend using CVR values with the least variability, i.e., the CVR values from the oxygenation signal.
The critical step of the technique is the same as any fNIRS experiment: the placement of the sources and light detectors on the head. A loose connection can lead to a displacement of the sensors during the experiment and artefacts in the signal. Too much artefact will corrupt the signal and disrupt the analysis.
CVR is most commonly measured in humans by 2 different techniques: Doppler ultrasound and fMRI. This third method, fNIRS, give us a precise and accurate measure of CVR under gas inhalation. Like ultrasound, it gives excellent temporal resolution, but in addition, it also provides a 2D map of CVR (cortical values). While these images are low in resolution compared to CVR measured with fMRI, fNIRS provides both measures inexpensively and non-invasively, and can be easily carried out in the outpatient clinical setting. In addition, fNIRS can measure the two components of hemoglobin (HbO and HbR), which has potential benefits for vascular research. Depending on the application, this method of measuring CVR via fNIRS can be carried out over a single area of interest or over a multi-band array for a 2D map of the brain. CVR using hypercapnia measures changes of blood flow across the brain with fNIRS, as opposed to a cognitive task which would only allow for detection of changes in a specific region of interest.
Because this procedure can be performed safely, inexpensively, and without side effects in a clinic setting, this method is well suited for both research and clinical use, especially for neurovascular diseases like vascular dementia or traumatic brain injury (TBI). In Alzheimer’s disease, early evidence of CVR deficits is detectable28. In the same way, traumatic cerebrovascular injury is one endophenotype of TBI29 in which endothelial cells are injured and lead to cerebrovascular pathology. Clinical trials targeting vascular injury can assess CVR via fMRI or fNIRS as a pharmacodynamic biomarker to provide information on proof of mechanism.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Work in the authors’ laboratory was supported by the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (CNRM), Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Bethesda, MD, by the Military Clinical Neuroscience Center of Excellence (MCNCoE), Department of Neurology, USUHS, and by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of Army/Navy/Air Force, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government.
Blue cuff | 22254 | Vacumed | |
CO2-Air Gas Mixture Size 200 | R012000 2003 | Roberts Oxygen | |
Diaphragm (Size: medium, Type: spiral) | 602021-2608 | Hans Rudolph | |
Douglas bag (200-liters capacity) | 500942 | Harvard Apparatus | |
Gas delivery Tube | 1011-108 | Vacumed | |
Gas sampling Tube | T4305 | QoSINA | |
Hydrophobic filter | 9906-00 | Philips Medical Systems | |
Male luer | 11547 | QoSINA | |
Mouth piece (Silicone, Model #9061) | 602076 | Hans Rudolph | |
Nose clip (Plastic foam, Model #9014) | 201413 | Hans Rudolph | |
Three-way valve (100% plastic) | CR1207 | Hans Rudolph | |
Two-way non-breathing valve (22mm/ 15mm ID) | CR1480 | Hans Rudolph |
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