research
Blueberry uses optical sensing (fNIRS - functional near-infrared spectroscopy) to understand changes in relative blood flow. We pair this with environment and mobile phone contextual sensing. Together, these can enable deeper insight into how, why, and when your mind or body changes during the day.
Example: Blood flow activation based on a memory challenge
This chart shows an example hemodynamic response in action. When you start memorizing at 0 seconds, oxygen-rich blood (red line) flows in to power your thinking, peaking around 5-6 seconds later. Meanwhile, deoxygenated blood (blue line) decreases as your tissue uses up oxygen. This "response wave" is your cognitive response at work. Blueberry lets you track it in real-time to optimize your mental performance.
We process fNIRS data in real-time to extract fundamental signal features such as (1) hemodynamic response (2) pulse rate variability (3) heart rate and (4) additional motion artifacts visible in the relative blood flow signal.
If you are interested in using Blueberry sensing for research please reach out directly to jd@blueberryx.com and we will do the best we can to support you.
- For an overview of the history of fNIRS, see a brief history on fNIRS brain sensing.
- fNIRS was invented in 1977, but wasn’t applied in a research setting until early 90's.
- An overview of fNIRS related brain sensing, how it works, and applied machine learning techniques on the data.
- How fNIRS can be used to measure mental workload meaning how much effort the mind is undergoing during a specific task.