Electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy-based hybrid biomarker for brain imaging

Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health problem worldwide, with millions of annual emergency cases. It leads to direct anatomic injury to the neuronal tissue. Assessment of cerebrovascular dysfunction due to TBI is a trivial task and is carried out by magnetic resonance imaging techniques. TBI patients suffer from a considerable amount of physiological dysfunction and therefore require continuous assessment of the disease in an economic setup. Feasible techniques including near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and rheoencephalography (REG) are used for this issue. However, REG is a semiinvasive technique since patients are exposed to electric shock through the skull. An alternative marker for the assessment of trauma is reported by electroencephalography (EEG). In this chapter, a comprehensive outlook of NIRS and EEG techniques are elaborated. Application of individual techniques for extraction of biomarkers of the brain at different physiological conditions are also discussed. At the end of the chapter, a hybrid system of NIRS and the EEG system is explained, and biomarker evaluation for TBIs is reported.