Brain Sensors Designed for Comfort in the Field: Charles River Analytics and Plux Launch the fNIRS Explorer™ Sensor

Simulated image for MEDIC project from Charles River Analytics.

Charles River Analytics Inc., developer of intelligent systems solutions, and PLUX, a biomedical engineering company in Portugal, proudly announce the joint commercial launch of the fNIRS Explorer™ sensor. The fNIRS Explorer is a wireless and ruggedized wearable that lets users acquire high-quality brain activation data, even out of the lab.

BrainOur fNIRS Explorer is a robust and integrated sensor solution that measures cognitive state

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) sensors measure visible and infrared light reflectance in cortical tissue. Typically applied on the forehead, fNIRS sensors estimate blood oxygen saturation level in brain tissue.

“Historically, fNIRS sensors are clunky and cumbersome,” explained Dr. Bethany Bracken, Principal Scientist at Charles River Analytics. “We developed small and portable fNIRS sensors to enhance our human state assessment projects. Our fNIRS explorer sensor comes with an adjustable, flexible headband and is made of rubber making it comfortable to wear for long periods of time. It is hermetically sealed, allowing it to be useful even in environments with sun, sand, and dust, letting wearers perform training activities both in and out of the lab.”

fNIRS Explorer builds on the success of our fNIRS Pioneer™ sensor, also developed in collaboration with PLUX. Both the fNIRS Pioneer and fNIRS Explorer capture high-quality signals at a fraction of the cost of current systems. These wearables are available for purchase through PLUX or its resellers’ network.

Our Solutions in Action

Our MEDIC system uses our fNIRS sensors and Sherlock™ platform to collect and process information about brain activity and deliver estimates of cognitive workload during high fidelity training simulations.

Our MEDIC system collects information on brain activity using our fNIRS sensors

Contact us learn more about our fNIRS sensors and our other Human Performance Modeling/Monitoring capabilities.

In this video, Dr. Bracken describes functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) sensors and how Charles River Analytics is using them in human state assessment projects.

Join Us at I/ITSEC 2019!

Learn more about our capabilities at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC 2019)—the world’s largest modeling, simulation, and training event—from Dec. 2-6 in Orlando, FL.

At Charles River Analytics, our deep understanding of intelligent adaptive training and AR/VR solutions results from cutting-edge AI, robotics, and human-machine interface R&D. We create custom solutions for your organization’s toughest challenges and we turn research into results.

Stop by Booth 1239 to demo our adaptive intelligent training and AR/VR solutions or contact us to set up a meeting.

The development of this sensor is based upon work supported by the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command under Contract No. W81XWH-17-C-0205. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

Solutions to serve the warfighter, technology to serve the world®

Charles River Analytics brings foundational research to life, creating human-centered intelligent systems at the edge of what’s possible, through deep partnerships with our customers. 

To learn more about Charles River or our current projects and capabilities, contact us