Functional imaging of the developing brain with wearable high-density diffuse optical tomography: A new benchmark for infant neuroimaging outside the scanner environment
Elisabetta Maria Frijia,
Addison Billing,
Sarah Lloyd-Fox,
Ernesto Vidal Rosas,
Liam Collins-Jones,
Maria Magdalena Crespo-Llado,
Marta Perapoch Amadó,
Topun Austin,
Andrea Edwards,
Luke Dunne,
Greg Smith,
Reuben Nixon-Hill,
Samuel Powell,
Nicholas L. Everdell,
Robert J. Cooper
Affiliations
Elisabetta Maria Frijia
DOT-HUB, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; neoLAB, Cambridge University NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 OQQ, United Kingdom; Corresponding author at: DOT-HUB, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
Addison Billing
DOT-HUB, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
Sarah Lloyd-Fox
Cambridge Babylab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3ER, United Kingdom; Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom
Ernesto Vidal Rosas
DOT-HUB, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
Liam Collins-Jones
DOT-HUB, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; neoLAB, Cambridge University NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 OQQ, United Kingdom
Maria Magdalena Crespo-Llado
Cambridge Babylab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3ER, United Kingdom; Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom
Marta Perapoch Amadó
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom; Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
Topun Austin
neoLAB, Cambridge University NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 OQQ, United Kingdom
Andrea Edwards
neoLAB, Cambridge University NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 OQQ, United Kingdom
Luke Dunne
Gowerlabs Ltd., Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
Greg Smith
Gowerlabs Ltd., Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
Reuben Nixon-Hill
Gowerlabs Ltd., Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
Samuel Powell
Gowerlabs Ltd., Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
Nicholas L. Everdell
Gowerlabs Ltd., Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
Robert J. Cooper
DOT-HUB, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; neoLAB, Cambridge University NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 OQQ, United Kingdom
Studies of cortical function in the awake infant are extremely challenging to undertake with traditional neuroimaging approaches. Partly in response to this challenge, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has become increasingly common in developmental neuroscience, but has significant limitations including resolution, spatial specificity and ergonomics. In adults, high-density arrays of near-infrared sources and detectors have recently been shown to yield dramatic improvements in spatial resolution and specificity when compared to typical fNIRS approaches. However, most existing fNIRS devices only permit the acquisition of ~20–100 sparsely distributed fNIRS channels, and increasing the number of optodes presents significant mechanical challenges, particularly for infant applications. A new generation of wearable, modular, high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) technologies has recently emerged that overcomes many of the limitations of traditional, fibre-based and low-density fNIRS measurements. Driven by the development of this new technology, we have undertaken the first study of the infant brain using wearable HD-DOT. Using a well-established social stimulus paradigm, and combining this new imaging technology with advances in cap design and spatial registration, we show that it is now possible to obtain high-quality, functional images of the infant brain with minimal constraints on either the environment or on the infant participants. Our results are consistent with prior low-density fNIRS measures based on similar paradigms, but demonstrate superior spatial localization, improved depth specificity, higher SNR and a dramatic improvement in the consistency of the responses across participants. Our data retention rates also demonstrate that this new generation of wearable technology is well tolerated by the infant population.
