# A transformative method for functional brain imaging with Speckle Contrast Optical Spectroscopy

> **NIH NIH UG3** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2024 · $364,842

## Abstract

Abstract
Advances in non-invasive monitoring of human brain function under normal and pathological conditions will lead
to breakthroughs in our understanding of the brain in health and disease, and lead to the development of devices
available for everyday use, with applications such as monitoring patients with brain injuries or neurodegenerative
disease, studies of brain function in natural environments, and brain-computer interfaces. Among the various
brain imaging techniques, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an optical method that images the
hemodynamic response to brain activation by measuring the oxy-(HbO) and deoxy-(HbR) hemoglobin
concentration changes due to brain activation. It is especially useful for populations and for studies for which
other imaging modalities are limited, e.g. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), including for children,
infants, and studies that involve motion and interactions or require high temporal resolution. However, fNIRS
brain sensitivity in adult humans is typically around 10%, and fNIRS alone does not provide quantitative
information about all the hemodynamic parameters as it does not measure changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF).
Here, we propose to develop a fiber-based speckle contrast optical spectroscopy (SCOS) system to measure
CBF variations due to brain activation in humans. SCOS uses relatively low-cost complementary metal–oxide–
semiconductor (CMOS) cameras as detectors. The performance of SCOS can surpass that of existing optical
systems for human measurements of CBF in terms of contrast to noise ratio (CNR) by at least one order of
magnitude with equal or less cost. The combined SCOS-fNIRS system developed in the UG3 phase will provide
measurements of all the hemodynamic parameters associated with brain activation, achieve an up to 3x
improvement in brain sensitivity compared with fNIRS alone, and permit estimation of evoked changes in
CMRO2. The high-density SCOS-fNIRS system developed in the UH3 phase will provide images of all the
hemodynamic parameters with high spatial and temporal resolution. This work will result in a new approach for
functional brain imaging and demonstrative results that will motivate adoption by others and future advancements
towards wearable devices at a reduced cost.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10902007
- **Project number:** 5UG3EB034710-02
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** David A Boas
- **Activity code:** UG3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $364,842
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-08-15 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10902007

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10902007, A transformative method for functional brain imaging with Speckle Contrast Optical Spectroscopy (5UG3EB034710-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10902007. Licensed CC0.

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