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Open research questions in Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques

85 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 305 Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Further research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of reduced FC in children with ASD and sleep disorders. Studies should explore the relationship between sleep disorders and ASD in deeper brain regions. Research should focus on developing more effective treatments for sleep disorders in children with ASD.

    Analysis of brain functional connectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder and sleep disorders: a fNIRS observational study · 2025 · DOI

  • The neurophysiological reasons behind sleep disorders in children with ASD are poorly understood. Prior studies have not fully investigated the relationship between ASD and sleep disorders using fNIRS.

    Analysis of brain functional connectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder and sleep disorders: a fNIRS observational study · 2025 · DOI

  • Suboptimal spatial and temporal resolution of fNIRS, - Limited penetration depth of fNIRS, - Relatively low reproducibility of fNIRS, - Small sample sizes in some studies, - Technical limitations of fNIRS need to be overcome

    Application of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in tinnitus research: contemporary insights and perspectives · 2024 · DOI

  • Further studies with larger samples are warranted to reproduce existing findings, - Overcoming technical limitations of fNIRS is crucial, - Advancing data analysis and integrating standardized and individualized experimental protocols can facilitate the utilization of fNIRS in tinnitus research, - Investigating the neural mechanisms underlying tinnitus treatments

    Application of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in tinnitus research: contemporary insights and perspectives · 2024 · DOI

  • However, prospective intraoperative data are lacking, and possible interactions with anesthetic choice remain untested.

    Cerebral Hemodynamic and Metabolic Responses to Anesthesia and Vasopressors in Adult Shoulder Surgery: A 2 × 2 Factorial Design Randomized Controlled Trial with Light-based Neuromonitoring (CHEM-FACT Study) · 2026 · DOI

  • However, progress in this field has been limited by the constraints of conventional neuroimaging modalities.

    Monitoring neonatal brain function: recent advances in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) · 2026 · DOI

  • Existing studies have found that take-over failures occur frequently on some drivers, but the causes have not been thoroughly studied.

    A Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Brain Activation to Explain the Take-Over Failure in Conditionally Automated Driving · 2024 · DOI

  • However, the reliability of fNIRS for detecting the neural correlates of consciousness remains to be established.

    Functional near-infrared spectroscopy: A novel tool for detecting consciousness after acute severe brain injury · 2024 · DOI

  • Broadly, we believe that our simulator-based deep learning approach can be applied to a wide range of imaging through scattering techniques where experimental paired training data is lacking.

    Robust single-shot 3D fluorescence imaging in scattering media with a simulator-trained neural network · 2024 · DOI

  • Further multi-center research is warranted to improve the generalizability and reliability of these findings.

    Evaluation of renal near-infrared spectroscopy for predicting extubation outcomes in the pediatric intensive care setting · 2024 · DOI

  • The strong scattering effect of the bronchial wall on NIR light propagation. The need for a minimally invasive, radiation-free real-time diagnostic imaging method. The potential risks and side effects of using optical clearing agents in human tissues.

    Near-infrared diffuse transmittance imaging for localization of pulmonary nodules · 2026 · DOI

  • Further optimization of near-infrared diffuse transmittance imaging for clinical applications. Investigation of the potential risks and side effects of using optical clearing agents in human tissues. Clinical validation of this method for localizing solitary pulmonary nodules.

    Near-infrared diffuse transmittance imaging for localization of pulmonary nodules · 2026 · DOI

  • NBI showed limited overall utility, - NBI images were markedly degraded by bleeding, - Highly hemorrhagic tumors made discrimination extremely difficult

    Fluorescence-guided Exoscopic Diagnosis in Brain Tumor Surgery · 2026 · DOI

  • Further evaluation of NBI in cortical surface observation of low-grade gliomas, - Assessment of the potential of other fluorescence agents in brain tumor surgery

    Fluorescence-guided Exoscopic Diagnosis in Brain Tumor Surgery · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for efficient prediction of time-resolved signals for TD-DOT. The complexity of real-world data, which may not be captured by simulated data. The need for robust and generalizable network performance.

    Development of a neural network predicting signals for time-domain diffuse optical tomography · 2026 · DOI

  • The study uses simulated data, which may not accurately represent real-world scenarios. The network is trained using a limited number of parameter combinations, which may not be sufficient to capture the complexity of real-world data.

    Development of a neural network predicting signals for time-domain diffuse optical tomography · 2026 · DOI

  • The study only included healthy adult females. The sample size was limited to 50 participants. The study did not control for potential confounding variables, such as age and cognitive ability.

    Prefrontal fNIRS hemodynamic correlates of attentional load during rapid serial visual presentation tasks · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies are needed to fully characterize prefrontal hemodynamic responses during RSVP tasks. The use of fNIRS in RSVP tasks should be explored in various populations, including individuals with neurological disorders. The development of brain-computer interfaces using fNIRS in RSVP tasks should be further investigated.

    Prefrontal fNIRS hemodynamic correlates of attentional load during rapid serial visual presentation tasks · 2026 · DOI

  • The impact of PRBC transfusion on cerebro-splanchnic blood flow and oxygenation is not well understood. Few studies have explored the effect of transfusion on SVCF.

    Integrated cerebro-splanchnic blood flow and regional oxygenation monitoring in transfused anemic preterm infants · 2026 · DOI

  • • The findings support further investigation of an integrated scoring system based on cerebral and splanchnic flow, systemic flow measures such as SVCF and/or cardiac output, and oxygenation parameters to identify infants most likely to benefit from transfusion.

    Integrated cerebro-splanchnic blood flow and regional oxygenation monitoring in transfused anemic preterm infants · 2026 · DOI

  • Future studies should investigate the use of NIRS in larger and more diverse populations. Future studies should evaluate the validity of NIRS measurements in skeletal muscle microvascular and respiratory responses to exercise. Future studies should compare the reproducibility of CW-NIRS and FD-NIRS in different exercise protocols and conditions.

    Skeletal muscle microvascular and respiratory responses to exercise in healthy and T2D adults: agreement and reproducibility study of NIRS technologies · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to compare the reproducibility of CW-NIRS and FD-NIRS in measuring skeletal muscle microvascular and respiratory responses to exercise. The study aims to address the gap in the literature by evaluating the agreement and reproducibility of hemodynamic and respiratory measures using CW-NIRS and FD-NIRS.

    Skeletal muscle microvascular and respiratory responses to exercise in healthy and T2D adults: agreement and reproducibility study of NIRS technologies · 2026 · DOI

  • The study uses a single-channel implementation of iSCOS. The study uses a limited number of scattering values and bi-layer geometries in the simulations.

    Time-of-flight-resolved interferometric speckle-contrast optical spectroscopy (TOF-iSCOS) for depth-resolved blood-flow sensing · 2026 · DOI

  • Further development of TOF-iSCOS for clinical applications. Investigation of the use of TOF-iSCOS in various tissue types and diseases.

    Time-of-flight-resolved interferometric speckle-contrast optical spectroscopy (TOF-iSCOS) for depth-resolved blood-flow sensing · 2026 · DOI

  • The study did not include a formal sham condition. The sample size was limited to 46 healthy young adults. The study only examined the effects of tPBM on resting-state EEG.

    Pulsed forehead photobiomodulation alters EEG power independent of pulsation frequency entrainment · 2026 · DOI

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85 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 305 Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques papers in our 4.5M-paper local library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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