Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive optical monitoring technology that can provide information on relative cerebral oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, and oxidized cytochrome aa3 concentrations. Unlike other bedside clinical monitoring technologies, NIRS provides direct information on cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation and blood volume changes. NIRS recordings have documented changes in cerebral oxygenation in fetuses during labor, critically ill premature infants, cardiopulmonary bypass patients, and adult surgical patients. This information may improve understanding of the causes of brain injury and allow detection of inadequate oxygen delivery before brain injury occurs. Future developments in NIRS technology are likely to produce practical, quantitative bedside monitors of global and regional cerebral oxygenation.
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