Is NIRS expensive?

While fMRI has become the gold standard for in vivo imaging of the human brain, in practice NIRS is a more convenient and less expensive technology than fMRI. We found that NIRS signals have significantly weaker SNR, but are nonetheless often highly correlated with fMRI measurements.

What is the cost of an fMRI?

Cost-effectiveness analysis

Type of modality	Cost (per test)	Cost/effectiveness
fMRI	268.8	312.56
PET scan	512.6	617.60
sMRI	45.07a	50.08
MRI	45.07	53.66

How much does an fNIRS machine cost?

We have designed single-channel fNIRS hardware and accompanying data collection software (for Android phones and Windows/Mac Computers) that can be assembled for approximately $215.

What can fNIRS measure?

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive brain imaging technique that measures blood oxygenation changes similar to fMRI. Thus, fNIRS can be used to record brain activations from tasks such as walking [8] and balance perturbations [9].

What are functional neuroimaging techniques?

Functional neuroimaging is the use of neuroimaging technology to measure an aspect of brain function, often with a view to understanding the relationship between activity in certain brain areas and specific mental functions. It is primarily used as a research tool in cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology.

How does NIRS monitoring work?

Research monitors While currently available commercial NIRS devices utilize only differences in light absorption between oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin, DCS also detects the scattering of light from moving red blood cells, enabling measurement of cerebral blood flow in addition to saturation [25].

Is NIRS functional or structural?

PET, MEG, EEG, TMS, and NIRS all have to rely on structural MR images and/or atlases to localize activity in the brain. Cost can be a disadvantage for fMRI if there is not a readily available instrument to acquire images. Relative to EEG-based techniques, fMRI is expensive.