Minicourse-07

Synopsis: In the next future thanks to the recent technological development TD fNIRS systems will be more and more accessible to the fNIRS community. The mini course will provide a comprehensive introduction to TD fNIRS for both beginners and advanced fNIRS users. The mini-course is composed of a theory section where we will introduce the principles of TD fNIRS, and of a hands-on section in which we will demonstrate TD fNIRS features by means of a state-of-the art compact TD fNIRS setup.

Course structure:

1. Principles of TD fNIRS
   • Basics of NIRS
   • The classical TD NIRS approach
   • The null source detector distance TD NIRS approach
2. TD fNIRS modeling and data analysis
   • Forward model
   • Inverse model
   • Semi-empirical approaches
3. TD fNIRS features
   • Quantification (homogeneous, perturbation, two-layer, tomography)
   • Reproducibility
   • Penetration depth
   • Depth selectivity
   • Spatial resolution
   • Contrast-to-noise ratio
4. TD fNIRS instrumentation
   • Light sources
   • Detection techniques
   • Delivery and collection system
   • Effect of IRF
5. TD fNIRS systems
   • Traditional TD fNIRS systems
   • State-of-the-art TD fNIRS systems
   • Co-registration with other modalities (DCS, US, EEG, …)
   • Next generation TD fNIRS systems
6. Hands-on demonstration
   • Introduction
   • Basic measurements: IRF, DTOF
   • Measurements on homogeneous phantoms (e.g. absorption and scattering linearity)
   • Measurements on heterogeneous phantoms (e.g. phantom switchable)
   • Measurements in vivo (general): estimate of optical properties and DPF
   • Measurements in vivo (muscle): cuff occlusion (venous, arterial) of the arm
   • Measurements in vivo (brain): finger tapping

Learning objectives:

• Basic TD fNIRS theory
• Main components of a TD fNIRS system
• Basic TD fNIRS data analysis
• TD fNIRS advantages and limitations