Principles and Applications of Near Infrared Spectroscopy
Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an optical technique that allows investigating tissue hemodynamics in-vivo and non-invasively by measuring optical absorption properties of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin using near infrared light (650-1000 nm). Since its introduction more than forty years ago, NIRS has seen a tremendous research growth due to its unique combination of performance, portability and reduced cost in comparison to other imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or positron emission tomography (PET). Importantly, NIRS has also been adopted in the clinical setting as a reliable technique for monitoring cerebral oxygenation in critical care, and many other scientific and clinical applications are rapidly developing. This tutorial introduces the basic principles of NIRS and briefly describes some of the most relevant applications in the field.
Instructor
Luca Pollonini
Luca Pollonini holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering (2000) and a Ph.D. in Information Engineering (2004) from the University of Brescia (Italy) and he is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Technology at the University of Houston, TX, USA where he directs the Optical BioImaging Lab. Dr. Pollonini is also the Co-PI of the NSF I/UCRC BRAIN (Building Reliable Advances in Neurotechnology) at the University of Houston. Prior to his current position, he held research appointments at NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH and UT Health Science Center in Houston, TX. Before and during his research career, he also co-founded the academic spin-offs Nirox (2005) and LVL Technologies (2013). As of today, Dr. Pollonini has 21 journal publications, 42 peer-reviewed proceedings publications, 3 issued patents, and 2 pending patents. He is an IEEE Senior Member and serves as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine and as a Communication Committee member of the Society for Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (SfNIRS).
Publication Year: 2018