The Brainsight NIRS system effortlessly combines functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with neuronavigation to provide a unique and powerful solution for multi-modal, functional brain imaging in neuroscience.

NIRS uses infrared light delivered through optical fibres to the scalp and then through the skull and into the brain. Once at the brain the IR light reflects and is scattered by brain tissue and blood. A secondary set of optical fibres on the scalp capture the infrared light as it exits the head. It is possible to detect changes in the concentration of oxygenated and de-oxygenated haemoglobin in the blood which has been shown by fMRI studies to directly correlate with brain activity.

We achieve this brain imaging using laser sources with two or more wavelengths and high sensitivity detectors for deep brain measurements. In addition the system benefits from supplementary detectors for dedicated measurement of superficial signals (e.g. from the scalp), which can then be removed from the analysis.. The locations of all sources and detectors can then be recorded using Brainsight’s neuronavigation features, allowing the variations in blood oxygenation levels to be mapped onto 3D reconstructions of the subject’s brain (or an average brain, if subject-specific MRI is not available).

Some of the main features of Brainsight NIRS are:

• Unique, patented optode and cap design to optimise multi-modality use, including:
  • NIRS & tDCS
  • NIRS & TMS
  • NIRS & EEG
  • NIRS & TMS & EEG
  • NIRS & MEG
• High frequency sampling of NIRS at 100Hz
• 8 analog channels to simultaneously record stimulus and bio-signals (pulse, breathing etc).
• Unique dedicated scalp activity detectors placed close to each source help remove signal scattered from the scalp and muscle tissue.
• Modular and flexible design with an intuitive software interface.