Optics (Introduction)

Functional MRI was still a young technology in the mid- to late 1990s and had not yet been fully validated, in particular through comparisons with other, related technologies. To this end, the Martinos Center launched an optical imaging program in 1998. Initially, the program focused on the development of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), another young technology capable of imaging blood oxygenation in the brain noninvasively and without use of ionizing radiation. In time, though, it grew beyond its original brief to encompass development of a host of related technologies and application of those technologies to a broad swath of questions in biomedical imaging. Ultimately, this work could contribute to better understandings of how the brain works as well as to improved screening and detection of a variety of pathologies.