The specifications and efficiency of the Kernel Flow system are reported in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO).
“We are currently collecting information with Kernel Flow to show extra human neuroscience applications. Kernel Flow plans large-scale TD-fNIRS systems into a wearable form, providing the next generation of noninvasive optical brain imaging devices. Systems like Kernel Flow will make neuroimaging much more accessible, to make it possible for widespread advantages in health and science. The FDA recently authorized a study using the Kernel Flow system to measure the psychedelic result of ketamine on the brain.
Kernel Flow headset. Credit: Image thanks to Kernel
A new wearable helmet-shaped gadget screens brain activity.
Current advances in brain imaging methods facilitate precise, high-resolution observations of the brain and its functions. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an extensively used noninvasive imaging method that utilizes near-infrared light (wavelength >> 700 nm) to figure out the relative concentration of hemoglobin in the brain, via distinctions in the light absorption patterns of hemoglobin.
Most noninvasive brain scanning systems utilize continuous-wave fNIRS, where the tissue is irradiated by a continuous stream of photons. These systems can not differentiate between scattered and taken in photons.
To get rid of these obstacles, scientists from Kernel, a neurotechnology company, established a wearable headset based on TD-fNIRS innovation. This gadget, called “Kernel Flow,” weighs 2.05 kg and contains 52 modules set up in four plates that fit on either side of the head. The specifications and performance of the Kernel Flow system are reported in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO).
The headset modules feature 2 laser sources that generate laser pulses less than 150 picoseconds large. The photons are then reflected off a prism and integrated in a source light pipe that directs the beam to the scalp. After going through the scalp, the laser pulses are recorded by 6 spring-loaded detector light pipes that are 2 mm in diameter and then sent to 6 hexagonally set up detectors 10 mm far from the laser source. The detectors tape-record the photon arrival times into histograms and can handling high photon count rates (those surpassing 1 × 109 counts per second).
To show its performance, the Kernel Flow system was used to record the brain signals of 2 individuals who performed a finger-tapping job. During the screening session, pie charts from more than 2,000 channels were collected from throughout the brain to measure the modifications in the concentrations of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin.
The system was discovered to match traditional TD-fNIRS systems. “We showed an efficiency similar to benchtop systems with our miniaturized device as defined by standardized tissue and optical phantom procedures for TD-fNIRS and human neuroscience results,” describes Ryan Field, the Chief Technology Officer at Kernel and the matching author of the study.
While the results are promising, Field acknowledges the requirement for more testing as near-infrared light is absorbed differently by particular hair and skin types. “We are currently collecting information with Kernel Flow to show additional human neuroscience applications. We are also in the procedure of assessing the performance of the system with various hair and skin types,” he states.
Kernel Flow plans large-scale TD-fNIRS systems into a wearable kind, providing the next generation of noninvasive optical brain imaging devices. Systems like Kernel Flow will make neuroimaging a lot more accessible, to make it possible for prevalent advantages in health and science. For example, the FDA recently licensed a research study utilizing the Kernel Flow system to determine the psychedelic impact of ketamine on the brain.
JBO guest editor Dimitris Gorpas of Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, a German proving ground for ecological health, remarks, “This is the worlds first wearable full-head coverage TD-fNIRS system that preserves or enhances on the performance of existing benchtop systems and has the possible to accomplish its mission of making neuro measurements mainstream. I am truly looking forward to what the brain has yet to reveal.
Referral: “Kernel Flow: a high channel count scalable time-domain practical near-infrared spectroscopy system” by Han Y. Ban, Geoffrey M. Barrett, Alex Borisevich, Ashutosh Chaturvedi, Jacob L. Dahle, Hamid Dehghani, Julien Dubois, Ryan M. Field, Viswanath Gopalakrishnan, Andrew Gundran, Michael Henninger, Wilson C. Ho, Howard D. Hughes, Rong Jin, Julian Kates-Harbeck, Thanh Landy, Michael Leggiero, Gabriel Lerner, Zahra M. Aghajan, Michael Moon, Isai Olvera, Sangyong Park, Milin J. Patel, Katherine L. Perdue, Benjamin Siepser, Sebastian Sorgenfrei, Nathan Sun, Victor Szczepanski, Mary Zhang and Zhenye Zhu, 18 January 2022, Journal of Biomedical Optics.DOI: 10.1117/ 1. JBO.27.7.074710.
