fNIRS performance monitor in Navy Divers at Depth

The fNIRS product is a non-invasive neuroimaging device that measures real-time changes in the concentration of oxygenated and de-oxygenated hemoglobin.  When sensors are placed at multiple places on the prefrontal cortex, the device measures changes blood oxygenation levels that can help determine various important parameters such as cognitive loading (amount of mental effort required to perform a task based upon changes in cerebral blood flow) or indication of any physiological insults suffered during diving missions. As opposed to other devices such as electroencephalography (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), or positron emission tomography (PET), a fNIRS device is not as sensitive or confounded with body positioning and can therefore perform functional measurements. The proposed PIONIR device leverages mature fNIRS technology and provides environment conditioning to enable use in a submersed deep-water environment for both military and civilian use. The product will have the capability to perform local data acquisition and signal processing on control unit worn by the diver and locally store and transmit data or alerts throughout the entire region of cerebral tissue. The primary intended use of the product is to identify neurologic anomalies when there is inappropriate cognitive behavior. This would enable the device to serve as an early warning indicator for dysfunctional physiological conditions that include oxygen toxicity, nitrogen narcosis, hypercarbia, hypoxia, and others that can adversely affect diver safety and potentially result in fatalities.   There is a great need for such device in military given that currently there are no physiologic monitoring tools that can monitor neurocognitive performance of the warfighter.  Military operational applications include search and recovery, search and rescue, underwater surveys, explosive ordnance disposal or clearance, demolition, underwater engineering, salvage, ships husbandry, reconnaissance, infiltration, sabotage, counterifiltration, underwater combat and security. Clearance divers for example, are specialists in underwater demolition, explosive ordnance disposal and improvised explosive device disposal. They are tasked with locating and destroying or recovering underwater ordnance at sea in ships, in the approaches to ports and anchorages, in port facilities and installations and in the coastal environment of amphibious operations. Ships husbandry pertains to all aspects of maintenance, cleaning, and general upkeep of the hull, rigging, and equipment of a ship.  There are currently no diver safety devices in use. Our PIONIR system would be integrated with the current diving equipment and gear. Our device would be used to answer important diving physiology research questions for the deployed product.