Design of a prototype for the brain activation functional study using Near Infrared Spectroscopy

In the last few years Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) has been increasingly considered by scientific world like a powerful tool for non-invasive monitoring of the cerebral hemodynamics and oxygenation changes due to functional brain activation. NIRS technique measures concentration changes in oxy and deoxygenated hemoglobin which are assumed to be the basis of fMRI BOLD (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Blood Oxygen Level Dependent) contrast blood oxygenation level-dependent; it can provide excellent temporal sensitivity (ms) as well as reasonable spatial sensitivity (cm). In this paper we describe the design and realization of a low-cost, battery operated, continuous wave system for the non invasive human brain study with NIRS in order to obtain information regarding visual or tactile areas activation. The presented prototype is magnetic resonance (MR) compatible, so it can be used during a functional MR imaging for brain activation studies.