High-Density fNIRS in Practice: From Montage Design to Multimodal Applications
Instructors: Giovanni Hering, Maria Adelia de Aratanha, Jiaming Cao, Rihui Li, Armin Heinecke
About this course
High-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) has matured from a technical innovation into a powerful application-ready tool for neuroscience and neuroimaging. In this workshop, we focus on how HD approaches can be effectively used across real research scenarios. We will present application examples, including EEG–fNIRS integration, fNIRS–fMRI studies, and hyperscanning paradigms, highlighting how HD improves spatial specificity and experimental flexibility in each case.
Participants will learn how to design and evaluate HD montages using our software, as well as how to acquire and optimize high-density data for different applications. The session emphasises practical decision-making, from setup to data quality optimisation. We will also demonstrate how HD-DOT can be extended into the MRI environment, with a comprehensive demo using a mock head coil, giving participants direct insight into preparing HD systems for multimodal imaging contexts.
What will you learn?
Core concepts of high-density fNIRS, with a focus on DOT while remaining applicable to broader HD approaches, emphasising practical implementation
- How to create and evaluate HD montages using our free software, NIRSite
- Strategies for acquiring high-quality data in high-density fNIRS scenarios
- Practical experience with HD data collection, including demonstration of data acquisition in an fMRI environment
Course details
Course duration
3 hours
Prerequisites and/or other notes
N/A
Delivery plan
Hour 0 – Hour 1: Preparing the basis of HD-fNIRS and walkthrough of creating and validating HD montages
Hour 1 – Hour 2.5: Showcase of HD applications by published authors
Hour 2.5 – Hour 3: Comprehensive demonstration of HD-fNIRS inside an fMRI Coil
Why should you enroll in this course?
High-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) is rapidly gaining traction in fNIRS research, with multiple toolboxes available for data analysis. However, practical guidance on designing and validating HD montages, performing meaningful measurements with high SNR and translating HD into mainstream applications remains limited.
This workshop aims to support the community by providing tools and workflows for creating and evaluating HD setups, as well as demonstrating how to extend HD-DOT into multimodal applications, including integration with MRI and cross-validation.