Application of optical methods in the monitoring of traumatic brain injury: A review.
We present an overview of the wide range of potential applications of optical methods for monitoring traumatic brain injury. The MEDLINE database was electronically searched with the following search terms: "traumatic brain injury," "head injury," or "head trauma," and "optical methods," "NIRS," "near-infrared spectroscopy," "cerebral oxygenation," or "cerebral oximetry." Original reports concerning human subjects published from January 1980 to June 2015 in English were analyzed. Fifty-four studies met our inclusion criteria. Optical methods have been tested for detection of intracranial lesions, monitoring brain oxygenation, assessment of brain perfusion, and evaluation of cerebral autoregulation or intracellular metabolic processes in the brain. Some studies have also examined the applicability of optical methods during the recovery phase of traumatic brain injury . The limitations of currently available optical methods and promising directions of future development are described in this review. Considering the outstanding technical challenges, the limited number of patients studied, and the mixed results and opinions gathered from other reviews on this subject, we believe that optical methods must remain primarily research tools for the present. More studies are needed to gain confidence in the use of these techniques for neuromonitoring of traumatic brain injury patients.
Department of Surgical Sciences/Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Uppsala University, Akademiska Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden wojciech.weigl@gmail.com.
Wojciech
W
Weigl
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Daniel
D
Milej
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Dariusz
D
Janusek
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Stanisław
S
Wojtkiewicz
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Piotr
P
Sawosz
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Michał
M
Kacprzak
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Anna
A
Gerega
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Roman
R
Maniewski
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Adam
A
Liebert
D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D020198:Intracranial Hemorrhage, Traumatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010092:Oximetry / Q000379:methods; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods
Cerebral oximetry; near-infrared spectroscopy; neuromonitoring; optical methods; traumatic brain injury