Comparison of 15oxygen positron emission tomography and near-infrared spectroscopy for measurement of cerebral physiology.

The gold standard technique for imaging cerebral blood flow (CBF) and metabolism is 15oxygen positron emission tomography (15O PET). Continuous near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used to assess adequacy of cerebral oxygenation following stroke, traumatic brain injury and subarachnoid haemorrhage [1], and measurements have been compared with jugular oxygen saturation. In this study we compared NIRS with 15O PET within healthy volunteers.