Breath-Holding as a Stimulus to Assess Peripheral Oxygenation Flow Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging

A mammalian breath-hold (BH) mechanism can induce vasoconstriction in the limbs, altering blood flow and oxygenation flow changes in a wound site. Our objective was to utilize a BH paradigm as a stimulus to induce peripheral tissue oxygenation changes via studies on control and diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) subjects. Subjects were imaged under a breath-hold paradigm (including 20 s BH) using a non-contact spatio-temporal-based NIRS device. Oxygenated flow changes were similar between darker and lighter skin colors but differed between wound site and normal background tissues. Thus, the ability of peripheral vasculature to response to oxygenation demand can be assessed in DFUs.