Array Designer: automated optimized array design for functional near-infrared spectroscopy

The position of each source and detector “optode” on the scalp, and their relative separations, determines the sensitivity of each functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) channel to the underlying cortex. As a result, selecting appropriate scalp locations for the available sources and detectors is critical to every fNIRS experiment. At present, it is standard practice for the user to undertake this task manually; to select what they believe are the best locations on the scalp to place their optodes so as to sample a given cortical region-of-interest (ROI). This process is difficult, time-consuming, and highly subjective. Here, we propose a tool, Array Designer, that is able to automatically design optimized fNIRS arrays given a user-defined ROI and certain features of the available fNIRS device. Critically, the Array Designer methodology is generalizable and will be applicable to almost any subject population or fNIRS device. We describe and validate the algorithmic methodology that underpins Array Designer by running multiple simulations of array design problems in a realistic anatomical model. We believe that Array Designer has the potential to end the need for manual array design, and in doing so save researchers time, improve fNIRS data quality, and promote standardization across the field.