The bone optical spectroscopy system (BOSS) uses Near-Infrared (NIR) light to analyze blood flow in the tibia. It aims to detect any changes regarding blood flow in bones due to exercise. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provides a safe, non-invasive, and inexpensive alternative to analyze hemodynamic changes in the biological tissues using light in the range of 600 to 1000 nm. NIR light can penetrate deeply into the biological tissue. With the use of fiber optic detectors, the scattered diffused light can be collected and relayed to spectrometers where it is decomposed into its spectral components.

In this thesis, I designed the probe holder for the BOSS system, developed the protocol for measurements, analyzed and optimized reproducibility of the system, and determined the system ability to measure changes in blood flow in the tibia, in particular in response to exercise for able-bodied subjects and paraplegic rowing. I conducted four experiments to detect changes due to 1) no movement, 2) high impact exercise, 3) low impact exercise, and 4) bone loading exercise for spinal cord injury patients. When patients are not moving the results illustrate little to no detected changes due to elevated steady leg over time. As for the exercise experiment, the data demonstrated consistent increase in blood volume after engaging the subjects in a high intensity physical exercise. However, the FES rowing experiment is not conclusive enough due to low number of subjects and contradicting results, which will be explained briefly in the upcoming sections.