Scanning interferometric near-infrared spectroscopy

Opt Lett. 2022 Jan 1;47(1):110-113. doi: 10.1364/OL.443533.

Abstract

In diffuse optics, quantitative assessment of the human brain is confounded by the skull and scalp. To better understand these superficial tissues, we advance interferometric near-infrared spectroscopy (iNIRS) to form images of the human superficial forehead blood flow index (BFI). We present a null source-collector (S-C) polarization splitting approach that enables galvanometer scanning and eliminates unwanted backscattered light. Images show an order-of-magnitude heterogeneity in superficial dynamics, implying an order-of-magnitude heterogeneity in brain specificity, depending on forehead location. Along the time-of-flight dimension, autocorrelation decay rates support a three-layer model with increasing BFI from the skull to the scalp to the brain. By accurately characterizing superficial tissues, this approach can help improve specificity for the human brain.

MeSH terms

  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Hemodynamics
  • Humans
  • Interferometry*
  • Skull
  • Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared*