Monitoring hemodynamic changes in stroke-affected muscles using near-infrared spectroscopy.

The oxygenation level of a tissue is an important marker of the health of the tissue and has a direct effect on performance. It has been shown that the blood flow to the paretic muscles of hemiparetic post-stroke patients is significantly reduced compared to non-paretic muscles. It is hypothesized that hemodynamic activity in paretic muscles is suppressed as compared to non-paretic muscles, and that oximetry can be used to measure this disparity in real-time.