Coherence between fluctuations in blood flow and oxygen saturation

We have determined the wavelet phase coherence between simultaneously recorded microvascular blood flow and oxygen saturation signals from 88 healthy subjects, thus enabling us to study their common fluctuations. Measurements were taken for 30 min from the arm and leg, at two depths. In the skin, blood flow and oxygen saturation were found to be coherent both at the cardiac frequency and below 0.1 Hz down to about 0.01 Hz. Coherence in the arm extends to lower frequencies than that in the leg. From the deeper recordings, no coherence was found on either limb. The existence of coherence between skin blood flow and oxygen saturation demonstrates causal connections between them within certain frequency ranges. The method has yielded the first detailed insight into the dynamics of blood oxygenation.