An experimental study of conductivity reactivity index for assessment of cerebrovascular autoregulation in cerebral ischemic rabbits

Abstract

Cerebrovascular autoregulation function is the mechanism ensuring the maintenance of constant cerebral blood flow by adjusting the caliber of cerebral vessels. It is important to have an effective noncontact tool for assessment and monitoring of the function in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The adjustment of intracranial arteriole caliber leads to changes in the conductivity of entire brain by relative changes in cerebral blood volume. Here, the electrical properties measurement of entire brain by magnetic induction phase shift with two contactless coils placed across the head is a valuable alternative to assess the function. Then, we proposed the correlation coefficient between spontaneous slow oscillations in arterial blood pressure and corresponding slow spontaneous oscillations in magnetic induction phase shift as a new index called conductivity reactivity index. The novel index is preliminarily confirmed the feasibility to monitor cerebrovascular autoregulation function after ischemic stroke on the animal experience. It has the potential to be used for noncontact, global, deep, bedside and real-time assessment of cerebrovascular autoregulation function of patients with cerebral ischemic stroke.