Virtual Head Phantom for Evaluation of Near Infrared Topography

The virtual head phantom of which 3D-structure is based upon Mill scans of an adult head is constructed to evaluate the effect of the probe arrangement on the reproducibility of brain function images by near infrared topography. The topographic images are obtained from the change in reflectance caused by the localized and broadened brain activations calculated by the virtual phantom. The size and signal intensity of the activation in the topographic image depend upon the probe arrangement in the case of the localized activation. The uneven thickness of the superficial layer, which cannot evaluated by the previous slab model, affects the distribution of measured activation in the topographic image and this reduces the position reproducibility of near infrared topography