Wearable Optical Neuroimaging Systems Enable High-Performance Naturalistic Brain Mapping

Optical brain mapping techniques fill crucial gaps via enabling technologies for assessing health in patients contraindicated for fMRI, in naturalistic settings, and at the point of care. However, most previous fNIRS systems used sparse-imaging arrays, significantly corrupting image quality. High-Density DOT (HD-DOT), an advanced form of fNIRS, leverages high-density arrays of interdigitated sources and detectors to increase the SD-pair channel count dramatically and enable volumetric reconstruct images of the brain that leverage MRI anatomy, often subject-specific. Recent results with High-Density DOT (HD-DOT) demonstrate the feasibility of mapping sensory networks (visual, auditory, motor) and distributed cognitive networks, including the frontal-parietal and default mode networks. Despite these advances, the application of HD-DOT to naturalistic studies has been limited by large optoelectronic consoles and bulky fiber optics. Making HD-DOT wearable is the key to unlocking and disseminating HD-DOT for cognitive neuroscience research. A new generation of wearable high-channel-count fNIRS and HD-DOT systems are enabling this paradigm shift.