New Software Updates Aurora + NIRSite
We are delighted to announce new software versions for Aurora and NIRSite by NIRx. They may already be downloaded from our Help Center!
We are delighted to announce new software versions for Aurora and NIRSite by NIRx. They may already be downloaded from our Help Center! These updates include compatibility for MacOS and the Hyperscan application. Thank you to our team in Berlin for making this happen.
Aurora 2021.4: Data acquisition with NIRSport2
New features and improvements
Support of single device split Hyperscanning in Hyperscan application. Ability to choose two different (max. 8x8) configurations to run from one NSP2 device, support for short channels and accelerometer. Independent visualization of data, separate storage of data.
LSL stream update: Inclusion of subject information (name, age, etc.) in LSL stream metadata.
Full accelerometer data in LSL stream.
Full accelerometer data (100 Hz) in SNIRF file.
Accelerometer samples (in LSL stream, *.acc, and SNIRF file) are corrected for drift of clock between NSP2 and accelerometer.
More default montages & configurations included when Aurora is initially installed.
Bug fixes and changes
Better error messages/handling when writing access to Documents folder is denied by Windows
Validation of "Data root directory" and "Configuration directory" on the settings page (i.e. errors when the directory does not exist or Aurora can't write to it)
Hyperscan data now saved in the Hyperscan folder instead of the Data folder.
Better validation of custom channel names/labels
NIRSite 2021.4: Montage Creation
Bug fixes and changes
Compatibility now spans from macOS Mojave to Big Sur.
Optode positions created in the fNIRS Optodes’ Location Decider (fOLD) can be loaded directly into NIRSite (if saved in ASCII format).
Digpts.txt file is automatically generated in the montage folder.
Additionally, we will be hosting an open webinar 11th May, 10 am EST/ 4 pm CET on Hyperscan: The hyperscanning feature for NIRSport2 + Aurora that will go over many of these features - see you there!
Would you like to learn more? Feel free to reach out to our support team. We’d be happy to hear from you.
Music, education and the brain
A report from UFABC, Brazil
Brains in Concert!
Below a small report from a unique event that took place earlier this year in São Paulo!
At the start of 2019, a very special event took place in the auditorium of the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, in São Paulo Brazil. The lucky 500 researchers and students that managed to secure a ticket, were able to experience a musical performance quite different from traditional concerts. While doctor Alicia Kowaltowski (Institute of Chemistry of the University of São Paulo (IQ-USP)) and neuroscientist Patrícia de Carvalho Aguiar (Einstein Brain Institute) played violin and cello, real-time oxygenation changes in their brain were projected above their heads!
This spectacular show was produced by Professor João Ricardo Sato, neuroscientist and statistician at the Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC). Professor Sato is an expert fNIRS researcher, with a particular interest in applying hyper-scanning to study teaching and learning processes, as well as music cognition. During the event in January, the brain, music and education converged into a great spectacle. A full report of this event can be read in the online version of the Pesquisa FAPESP magazine (in Portuguese).
It’s not the first time this group is finding new and innovative ways to showcase fNIRS. Below is a video produced by the Neuroscience and Music group of UFABC during the presentation of the Orquestra Sinfônica de Santo André.
And, who has not seen the famous violin hyper-scanning video?
In February, Professor Sato and his colleagues published their work on studying brain activity in professional violinists in Frontiers in Psychology. Specifically, the group used fNIRS hyper-scanning to identify distinct patterns of brain activity for when the violinists were playing either as leader or as follower in musical duets. A great example of multi-subject studies in naturalistic environments!
Interested to read more about the work of Professor Sato? Below you will find A selection of recent publication:
VANZELLA, P. et al . fNIRS responses in professional violinists while playing duets: Evidence for distinct leader and follower roles at the brain level . Frontiers in Psychology . Feb. 2019.
BROCKINGTON, G. et al . From the laboratory to the classroom: The potential of functional near-infrared spectroscopy in educational neuroscience . Frontiers in Psychology . Oct. 2018 .
BALARDIN, Joana B. et al . Imaging brain function with functional near-infrared spectroscopy in unconstrained environments . Frontiers in Human Neuroscience . May. 2017.
New to fNIRS and interested to see if our hyper-scanning solutions can enhance your research? Or looking to advance your ongoing fNIRS work and take it to natural environments? Please do not hesitate to Contact us!
Event Recap: NIRx Workshop Fudan University
A big thank you to everyone making this workshop a success!
The 2019 NIRx & Hanix Workshop at Fudan University in Shanghai was a great success!
We would like to thank all organizing parties, guest speakers, attending researchers and students, supporting staff and everyone else involved with the NIRx Workshop at Fudan University Shanghai last week. During the two-day workshop a strong selection of researchers presented their ongoing work, while NIRx Scientific and Technical experts provided lectures and hands-on training sessions. Please find below a brief report!
The first day started with guest lectures, and Professor Li Xianchun from East China Normal University had the honor to deliver the first, which focused on brain synchronization during social interaction.
Next, Professor Zhang Dandan of Shenzhen University shared her research on the processing of emotional speech in newborn brains, also explaining some principals of fNIRS data collection and analysis. Recently, a study from Prof. Zhang got published in the Human Brain Mapping journal. Read more about it here!
In the afternoon, Professor Niu Haijing from Bejing Normal University presented her work on how to use resting state fNIRS analysis to study brain development in children.
If resting state fNIRS analysis interests you, check out our upcoming Functional Connectivity Webinar!
The second afternoon talk was held by Professor Benjamin Becker from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) in Chengdu. Prof. Becker showed how his lab investigates new treatments for mental disorders using real-time fNIRS neurofeedback.
UESTC Chengdu (China) - Third Prize Winner in the NIRx 2018 Student Video Contest
The first day of the workshop was concluded by a wonderful talk from Professor Liu Tao of Zheijang University. Prof. Tao showed how VR and fNIRS can be combined to study inter-brain coupling in an interactive environment.
Thank you to all guest speakers for their interesting contributions!
On the second day, we continued with practical lectures on fNIRS experimental set-up, study design, data acquisition and data analysis. We also demonstrated concurrent fNIRS-TMS. Below you may find more pictures of the workshop!
Interested to see if there is an upcoming NIRx fNIRS event in your region? On our Events Page you will find all upcoming workshops, conferences and other events we are organizing or attending.
We look forward to meet you there!