Abstract

Continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy (CW-NIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) are two diffuse optics modalities for functional brain imaging. For both technologies, the measurements of cerebral hemodynamic processes are impeded by extracerebral contamination. Here, we quantify the sensitivity of each modality to brain hemodynamics, through Monte Carlo simulations and in vivo recordings in adults during hypercapnia. We show that, due to a different physiological contrast and to a different contrast mechanism, DCS is more sensitive to brain hemodynamics, and presents less contamination by extracerebral vasculature.

© 2014 Optical Society of America