Journal of rehabilitation research and development
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We compared the test-retest reliability of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measures of cerebral oxygenation and blood volume during a rhythmic handgrip exercise in 13 nondisabled subjects and 25 subjects with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Subjects with TBI (average Glasgow Coma Scale score = 4.2, average time since injury = 21 mo) had completed an acute brain injury rehabilitation program. After 2 min of rest, each subject performed 60 s of maximal rhythmic handgrip contractions with the right hand in two trials 24 to 48 h apart. ⋯ Intraclass correlations between the two trials for cerebral oxygenation and blood volume were 0.83 and 0.80, respectively, in nondisabled subjects and 0.70 and 0.64, respectively, in subjects with TBI. The findings indicate that NIRS is a reliable noninvasive technique for evaluating cerebral oxygenation and blood volume changes during motor function. NIRS can be useful in monitoring recovery of cerebral oxygenation during rehabilitation of patients with TBI.