Measuring tissue hemodynamics and oxygenation by continuous-wave functional near-infrared spectroscopy--how robust are the different calculation methods against movement artifacts?

Continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy and imaging enable tissue hemodynamics and oxygenation to be determined non-invasively. Movements of the investigated subject can cause movement artifacts (MAs) in the recorded signals. The strength and type of MAs induced depend on the measurement principle. The aim of the present study was to investigate the quantitative relationship between different single-distance (SD) and multi-distance (MD) measurement methods and their susceptibility to MAs. We found that each method induces MAs to a different degree, and that MD methods are more robust against MAs than SD methods.