In Artinis NIRS blog, you will find the latest trends in (f)NIRS, NIRS studies and applications, tutor from the leaders of near infrared spectroscopy, not to mention detailed insights and tips and tricks for your research!
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Combining Virtual Reality and wearable fNIRS
The application of Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming increasingly important in clinical and psychological research, for instance in exposure therapy or neurorehabilitation. fNIRS can be used to monitor brain activity during application of VR. We tested simultaneous use of VR and fNIRS with our new device, the Brite Frontal. Read in this blogpost, how this went and which advantages using fNIRS during VR application can demonstrate.
Integrating real-time fNIRS with biofeedback to promote fluency in people who stutter
Over at the Speech Lab here in University College London, we are in the midst of data collection with the wearable fNIRS system, Brite. We’ve been investigating the hemodynamic biomarkers of stuttering along with cortical responses of altered feedback during speech.
The Starstim fNIRS - Combining tES brain stimulation and EEG + fNIRS neuroimaging in one headcap
Starstim fNIRS is the most adaptable solution to combine tES brain stimulation with EEG and fNIRS neuroimaging in one single wireless and wearable system – and what makes it the most versatile solution for researchers and clinicians in many application areas. The possibility to combine tES with multiple neuroimaging modalities in one device facilitates altering human behavior and acquiring a more complete picture of the brain. It further increases application possibilities and reduces set-up and measurement time.
How to: Start a measurement and do a short analysis
If you don’t have time to read our extensive manuals, but would still like some quick pointers on how to start a measurement with one of our state of the art fNIRS devices… you’re in the right place! In this blog we will get you set-up in no time and discuss some of the analysis options our proprietary software, OxySoft, offers.
Heart rate extraction from NIRS signal
A commonly asked question is “What are the advantages of NIRS over EEG?”. NIRS signals are, in general, less susceptible to artifacts like motion artifacts or electrical noises. There are, however, also physiological components such as heartbeat, breathing, and Mayer-waves present in the signal. Although not an artifact, these components are usually filtered out since they are not useful in determining the pure hemodynamic response signal of the brain. Nevertheless, there is interesting information in the heartbeat. In this blog, we talk about taking advantage of the heartbeat in the NIRS signals and extracting the heart rate signal from them.
The importance of being precise: using PsychoPy for stimulus presentation and OxySoft for triggering
You’ve got your NIRS device ready and have already thought of the protocol for your next experiment. You have a clear picture of it in your head: you can see the subjects with the NIRS cap on facing a PC monitor showing each of the instructions and stimuli at the exact timing you were aiming for. Timestamps for each event are automatically saved and once the session is over, you are ready to go for the analysis. Sounds nice, right? How simple is it, though? Well, turns out it’s quite simple, actually. You just need the right tools, and the combination of PsychoPy and Oxysoft is a perfect match!
Submersible NIRS: a very wet lab...
In 2016 dr. Chris McKnight approached Artinis with the idea to measure NIRS under water on wild animals. Initially there was some skepticism, since our devices are not intended to be taken underwater, let alone on a wild animal. However, we really liked the challenge and together with the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) of the University of St. Andrews we created a submersible NIRS-sensor specifically for the seals.
User insight: observing NIRS research with the Artinis PortaLite on elderly
We like to incorporate the user from the very first beginning in our development process. Talking with researchers and clinicians, we get to know what’s driving them and what their expectations and suggestions are for our devices. We are constantly trying to understand their feelings and see the world from their perspective to optimize our NIRS devices. One way of doing this is observing and questioning the user that is working with the device, and subject that is wearing the NIRS device. This way, we are trying to gain new insights for existing and future NIRS products.
PROMPT project: towards personalized treatment of mobility dysfunction
In this project we will focus on one of the most disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, freezing of gait – episodic absence or reduction in the ability to produce an effective stepping in spite of the intention to walk (Nutt et al., 2011).