Simultaneous near infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography: a prospective screening tool for brain trauma / disease

This thesis reports the development of a novel screening tool for brain trauma and disease using a headset capable of taking simultaneous measurements of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with a focus on developing the EEG side of the headset. Procedures for removing artifacts were developed for both modalities. The headset’s measurements were validated using a breath-holding task for fNIRS and an eyes open/eyes closed and trail making tasks for EEG. The eyes open/eyes closed (n=7) and trail making tasks (n=11) were further analyzed as potential tasks for use in screening. Integrated alpha power of EEG signals were found to provide robust differences between the eyes open/eyes closed states of the brain. Alpha power was also found to provide robust differences between rest and early trail making states in the trail making task, whereas, high beta power did not for either task.