Wearable modular high-density diffuse optical tomography

项目总结： 来自华盛顿大学(Washington University)的初创公司EperImage将开发高保真、可穿戴、 超越以往光学神经成像和磁共振的限制的光学技术 成像(MRI)工具，为成人和儿童提供自然的大脑成像。一种神经发育障碍 自闭症谱系障碍(Asd)在普通人群中影响到1/54的儿童，表现出高度的异质性。 表型；然而，核心特征是社交沟通技能的发展受阻，加上重复性 行为和受限制的利益。此外，早期视觉-运动整合和运动模仿方面的困难 可能与广泛报道的自闭症患者的社交沟通障碍密切相关。 因为对患有自闭症的幼儿进行早期干预已被证明能够改善预后，具有创新性 在行为表现前早期检测ASD潜在的脑功能改变的方法 症状对于推进治疗策略和改善预后是必要的。现代脑电地形图 功能磁共振成像(Fmri)等方法提供了有希望的灵敏度，但也具有重要意义。 儿童清醒、互动和移动研究中的方法学挑战 环境和对运动诱导的伪影的敏感性。 光学神经成像为功能磁共振成像提供了一种潜在的替代物。然而，使用传统光学技术获得的图像质量 与黄金相比，功能近红外光谱(FNIRS)技术一直缺乏系统 功能磁共振成像标准。高密度漫反射光学断层扫描(HD-DOT)的研究进展 FNIRS极大地提高了图像质量，并以保真度绘制了感觉、运动和认知网络 可与整个皮质外层1厘米的功能磁共振成像相媲美。尽管取得了这些进展，但HD-DOT在 儿童的自然主义研究一直受到大型光电控制台和笨重的光纤的限制。几个 可穿戴的无纤维fNIR仪器正在商业化销售，但所有仪器都存在多重缺陷--要么 比这里建议的更低的分辨率、更强的图像失真、更小的视场或更小的信噪比。 这个第一阶段的STTR项目将开发一种商业化的、与性能相匹配的WHD-DOT设备 用于包括神经发育障碍在内的儿科研究的基于纤维的HD-DOT。长期 影响：WHD-DOT成像系统将使神经科学能够更好地了解 以及监测发育中的大脑对治疗的反应。目标1的目标是开发一个健壮的 模块化可扩展WHD-DOT系统。目标2的目标将是验证WHD系统在健康成年人和 在发育典型的儿童和ASD儿童中。验证将通过映射确定可行性 不受束缚的成人和儿童的分布式大脑活动。这将为以下产品建立全头WHD-DOT产品 在后续阶段第二阶段提案中的商业化发展。

Project Summary: EsperImage, a startup company out of Washington University (WUSTL), will develop high fidelity, wearable, optical technology that transcends limitations of both previous optical neuroimaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tools to provide naturalistic brain imaging in adults and children. A neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1/54 children in the general population, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents highly heterogeneous phenotypes; however, core features are impaired development of social-communicative skills plus repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. Additionally, early difficulties with visuo-motor integration and motor imitation may be strongly associated with impairments of social communication widely reported in individuals with ASD. Because early interventions in toddlers with ASD have been proven to result in improved outcomes, innovative methods for early detection of the alterations in brain function underlying ASD prior to manifestation of behavioral symptoms are necessary to advance treatment strategies and improve prognoses. Current brain mapping methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offer promising sensitivity yet pose significant methodological challenges in studies of awake, interacting, and moving children due to the loud, constraining environment and susceptibility to motion-induced artifacts. Optical neuroimaging provides a potential surrogate for fMRI. However, image quality with traditional optical technology, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), systems had been lacking in comparison to the gold standard of fMRI. Development of high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT), a tomographic version of fNIRS, has dramatically improved image quality, and maps sensory, motor, and cognitive networks with fidelity comparable to fMRI throughout the outer 1 cm of the cortex. Despite these advances, application of HD-DOT to naturalistic studies in children has been limited by large opto-electronic consoles and bulky fiber optics. Several wearable fiber-less fNIRS instruments are becoming available commercially, but all have multiple deficits - either lower resolution, stronger image distortions, smaller fields of view, or less signal to noise than proposed herein. This Phase-I STTR project will develop a commercialization-ready WHD-DOT device that matches performance of fiber-based HD-DOT for use in pediatric studies including on neurodevelopmental disorders. Long Term Impact: The WHD-DOT imaging systems will enable neuroscience to better understand the mechanisms of disease as well as monitor response to therapy in the developing brain. The goal of Aim 1 is to develop a robust modular scalable WHD-DOT system. The goal of Aim 2 will be to validate the WHD system in healthy adults and in children both typical developing and those with ASD. Validation will establish feasibility through mapping distributed brain activity in untethered adults and children. This will establish a full-head WHD-DOT product for commercialization development in a follow-up Phase-II proposal.