Brain-based disorders such as epilepsy, stroke, acquired brain injury, and Parkinson’s Disease impact tens of thousands of Canadians each year. Diagnosis and monitoring of brain-based disorders is done using brainimaging methods including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG). However, these techniques are limited for their use for clinical and research applications. Namely, MRI and EEG are sensitive to movements, limiting access for children and older adults, they also require highly trained staff making these techniques expensive. In turn, traditional brain imaging, even within hospital settings is limited, and using them in the community is currently not possible. To promote and monitor healthy brain function and repair across the lifespan, brain-imaging methods that are low cost and portable are needed for real-time and long-term monitoring to identify brain states that promote brain recovery.

Over the last two decades, functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) has become a well-established technique to monitor blood-flow changes in the brain. fNIRS is a non-invasive imaging method that uses light to measure oxygen levels in the brain. fNIRS is silent, non-invasive, inexpensive, portable, allows for long-time measurements, and is not impacted by movement. fNIRS offers the possibility of studying blow-flow changes in real environments, making it particularly interesting for the evaluation of human behaviours, but also for patients who cannot undergo traditional imaging. Still, fNIRS faces numerous challenges for increased clinical and research adoption. Of importance, is the lack of standardized methods for data analysis and the need for advanced analytic methods to improve data quality. The goal of the SPRINT platform is to develop novel fNIRS technologies and software and apply them in patients with brain-based disorders. The ability to continuously monitor brain activity opens the door to a better understanding of individual brain health and can play a key role in precision medicine and rehabilitation.