Investigating developmental changes in scalp-to-cortex correspondence using diffuse optical tomography sensitivity in infancy.

Xiaoxue Fu,John E Richards

doi:10.1117/1.nph.8.3.035003

Xiaoxue Fu, John E Richards

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1117/1.nph.8.3.035003

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Journal: Neurophotonics	Publication Date: Jul 24, 2021
Citations: 11	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of South Carolina

Abstract

.Significance: Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) uses near-infrared light spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure changes in cerebral hemoglobin concentration. Anatomical interpretations of NIRS data require accurate descriptions of the cranio-cerebral relations and DOT sensitivity to the underlying cortical structures. Such information is limited for pediatric populations because they undergo rapid head and brain development.Aim: We aim to investigate age-related differences in scalp-to-cortex distance and mapping between scalp locations and cortical regions of interest (ROIs) among infants (2 weeks to 24 months with narrow age bins), children (4 and 12 years), and adults (20 to 24 years).Approach: We used spatial scalp projection and photon propagation simulation methods with age-matched realistic head models based on MRIs.Results: There were age-group differences in the scalp-to-cortex distances in infancy. The developmental increase was magnified in children and adults. There were systematic age-related differences in the probabilistic mappings between scalp locations and cortical ROIs.Conclusions: Our findings have important implications in the design of sensor placement and making anatomical interpretations in NIRS and fNIRS research. Age-appropriate, realistic head models should be used to provide anatomical guidance for standalone DOT data in infants.

Highlights

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) uses near-infrared light spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure changes in cerebral hemoglobin concentration.[1,2,3] DOT does not provide anatomical information about the location of the hemodynamic signal
The sample consisted of nine participants from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE),[44 280] (143 females) from the Baby Connectome Project (BCP),[45 177] (93 females) from the Early Brain Development Study (EBDS),[46 282] (106 females) from the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS),[47 14] (5 females) from the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics Data Repository (PING),[48] and 296 scans (141 females) from data collected at the McCausland Center of Brain Imaging (MCBI) or drawn from collaborative studies at other sites
This study examined the scalp-to-cortex distances and scalp-to-cortical regions of interest (ROIs) correspondence in infants, children, and adults using both the scalp projection methods and DOT sensitivity estimations

Summary

Introduction

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) uses near-infrared light spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure changes in cerebral hemoglobin concentration.[1,2,3] DOT does not provide anatomical information about the location of the hemodynamic signal. The forward model can guide DOT image reconstruction to recover the brain locations of hemoglobin concentration changes.[6,7] There are considerable brain structural changes during infancy through childhood and adulthood.[8,9] Accurate models of DOT sensitivity must account for age-related changes in the head.[10]

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