NIRSLINK: A Modular Cascaded Wearable Near-Infrared Spectroscopy System for High-Speed Multi-Site Hemodynamic...

Wearable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) enables non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring, yet conventional CW-NIRS systems suffer from limited temporal resolution, scalp-only measurement, and mandatory manual tuning to compensate for optical heterogeneity across subjects and sites. This work develops NIRSLINK, a modular cascaded wearable NIRS system for high-speed multi-site hemodynamic acquisition. Its flexible probes adopt spring-floating optics with a standardized 30 mm optode separation, integrating dual 735/850 nm LEDs, silicon photodiodes, and a two-stage closed-loop tuning algorithm. A single probe achieves a peak sampling rate of 3 kHz, and up to eight cascaded probes form 52 valid channels, with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 78.61 ± 7.03 dB and an optical dynamic range (DR) of 101.32 ± 12.41 dB. Phantom experiments verify its millisecond temporal resolution and high sensitivity to blood flow and hemoglobin variations. In vivo trials, including the Valsalva maneuver, forearm occlusion, and two-back cognitive tasks, demonstrate simultaneous recording of hemoglobin concentration shifts, pulse waveforms, and beat-to-beat pulse transit times (PTTs). NIRSLINK supports hemodynamic measurements across multiple anatomical locations, including the forehead, forearm, upper arm, and thigh, covering both cranial and peripheral body regions. The embedded auto-tuning module stabilizes signals from the forehead, forearm, and other regions within the optimal ADC range without manual adjustment, preventing signal saturation and SNR degradation. This scalable adaptive platform overcomes critical drawbacks of traditional wearable NIRS, applicable to cognitive neuroscience, non-invasive cardiovascular assessment, and ambulatory physiological monitoring, and provides design references for multi-site optical sensors.