Lecture "Near-Infrared Spectroscopy: Investigating the Brain with Light in the Operating Room"

Summary

The Intelligent Biomedical Sensing (IBS) Lab at BIFOLD, TU Berlin, and the German Heart Center (DHZC) at Charité warmly invite to a guest lecture by Prof. Maria Angela Franceschini (MGH / Harvard Medical School). In the spirit of a new collaboration between IBS and DHZC at the interface of optical brain monitoring and clinical cardiology, we are deeply grateful for Prof. Franceschini to kick-off our joint initiative by sharing insights from her groundbreaking work in this domain.

 https://www.bifold.berlin/news-events/events/view/event-details/near-infrared-spectroscopy-investigating-the-brain-with-light-in-the-operating-room

Title: Near-Infrared Spectroscopy: Investigating the Brain with Light in the Operating Room

Abstract: Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is an established neuroimaging and neuromonitoring technique that enables non-invasive measurement of cerebral hemodynamics and oxygenation. It is widely used to assess brain function and monitor adequate cerebral perfusion in clinical settings, including during cardiac surgery.

Maria Angela Franceschini's group, along with others, has shown that by varying the properties of light—such as wavelength, intensity modulation, and coherence - they can extract information beyond simple hemoglobin changes, significantly expanding the capabilities of NIRS. Building on their seminal work using NIRS and Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS) in neonates, they are developing novel instruments and approaches to more accurately quantify cerebral oxygenation, blood flow, and oxygen metabolism in both children and adults.

In recent years, they have made substantial progress in advancing DCS technology—improving its depth sensitivity, acquisition speed, and the accuracy of the recovered cerebral blood flow index. At the same time, they are working to make NIRS devices more wearable and affordable, with the goal of enabling their use beyond traditional laboratory and hospital settings.

In this presentation, Maria Angela Franceschini will review the latest technological developments that are enabling the routine use of NIRS and DCS in both clinical and wearable applications. She will also highlight their adoption in a range of clinical studies and share results from their most recent work.

Time: June 13, 2025 -- 15:00-17:00 CET

Location: DHZC Charité, Virchow Klinikum, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Weißer Saal. Map

Virtual: The talk will be broadcast via Zoom.

Short-bio: 
Maria Angela Franceschini, PhD, is a physicist, Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School, and Senior Scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. For over 30 years, she has led innovations in near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) to monitor brain health across the lifespan. 

She played a key role in developing the original ISS frequency-domain oximeter, now considered a gold standard in the field. She is also known for the MetaOx and FlexNIRS systems, and for recent work advancing DCS and speckle contrast optical spectroscopy (SCOS) for neuromonitoring. Her current efforts focus on developing wearable optical devices to enable brain monitoring in real-world and home settings. She holds 13 patents and has authored over 100 publications.