A tissue equivalent phantom for simultaneous near-infrared optical tomography and EEG

We describe a phantom which enables EEG and near-infrared optical tomography to be performed simultaneously over the same volume. The phantom provides a surface electrical contact impedance comparable to that of the human scalp, whilst also possessing an optical scattering coefficient and electrical conductivity equivalent to that of brain tissue. The construction of the phantom is described, as is the resulting simultaneous EEG and near infrared optical tomography experiment, which, to our knowledge, is the first performed on a scale comparable to that of the infant human brain. This imaging experiment successfully shows the suitability of this phantom construction for the assessment of simultaneous EEG and near infrared optical tomography systems. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America