The simultaneous measurements of tissue oxygen concentration and energy state by near-infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The oxygenation and energy states of brain tissues were measured simultaneously by near-infrared photometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in situ. In both cat and dog, the critical hemoglobin oxygenation was 10%, below which the ratio of phosphocreatine (PCr) to inorganic phosphate (Pi) started to fall. The fall of PCr/Pi paralleled the reduction of copper in cytochrome aa3. The separation of the cytochrome aa3 signal from that of hemoglobin by our optical method was confirmed by the substitution of blood by fluorocarbon solution. The energy-oxygen diagram (PCr/Pi against hemoglobin oxygenation, HbO2) was the same in normal- and fluorocarbon substituted cats, but energy curve shifted to the right in the latter when PCr/Pi plotted against the inspired oxygen, FiO2.