Towards the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy as an assessment tool in disorders of consciousness
Karnig Kazazian, Matthew Kolisnyk, Garima Gupta, Jack de Jeu, Androu Abdalmalak, Adrian M. Owen · 2026
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Description
Karnig Kazazian and co-authors argue that a bedside light-based brain scan deserves a place in assessing patients who appear unconscious, in a 2026 perspective piece. Some patients who show no outward response still hold hidden brain activity, and finding it changes care. Standard tools for that search, MRI and EEG, can be hard to bring to fragile patients.
The light method, called fNIRS, tracks blood flow in the brain from sensors on the head, and it is portable, safe, and cheap. The authors review recent progress, then point to next steps: large validation studies, pairing with other scans, and brain-computer links for communication. They also press for fair access, so this chance to detect hidden awareness is not limited to rich centers.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Karnig Kazazian, Matthew Kolisnyk, Garima Gupta, Jack de Jeu, Androu Abdalmalak, Adrian M. Owen |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 39 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |