McCann Ashlyn, Xu Edward, Yen Fan-Yu, Joseph Noah, Fang Qianqian
Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Northeastern University, Department of EECS, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Neurophotonics. 2025 Jan;12(1):015016. doi: 10.1117/1.NPh.12.1.015016. Epub 2025 Mar 18.
Consistent and accurate probe placement is a crucial step toward enhancing the reproducibility of longitudinal and group-based functional neuroimaging studies. Although the selection of headgear is central to these efforts, there does not currently exist a standardized design that can accommodate diverse probe configurations and experimental procedures.
We aim to provide the community with an open-source software pipeline for conveniently creating low-cost, three-dimensional (3D) printable neuroimaging head caps with anatomically significant landmarks integrated into the structure of the cap.
We utilize our advanced 3D head mesh generation toolbox and 10-20 head landmark calculations to quickly convert a subject's anatomical scan or an atlas into a 3D printable head cap model. The 3D modeling environment of the open-source Blender platform permits advanced mesh processing features to customize the cap. The design process is streamlined into a Blender add-on named "NeuroCaptain."
Using the intuitive user interface, we create various head cap models using brain atlases and share those with the community. The resulting mesh-based head cap designs are readily 3D printable using off-the-shelf printers and filaments while accurately preserving the head geometry and landmarks.
The methods developed in this work result in a widely accessible tool for community members to design, customize, and fabricate caps that incorporate anatomically derived landmarks. This not only permits personalized head cap designs to achieve improved accuracy but also offers an open platform for the community to propose standardizable head caps to facilitate multi-centered data collection and sharing.
一致且准确的探头放置是提高纵向和基于组的功能神经成像研究可重复性的关键一步。尽管头带的选择对于这些工作至关重要，但目前尚不存在一种能够适应多种探头配置和实验程序的标准化设计。
我们旨在为社区提供一个开源软件管道，以便方便地创建低成本的三维（3D）可打印神经成像头帽，头帽结构中集成有具有解剖学意义的地标。
我们利用先进的3D头部网格生成工具箱和10-20头部地标计算，将受试者的解剖扫描或图谱快速转换为3D可打印的头帽模型。开源Blender平台的3D建模环境允许使用高级网格处理功能对头帽进行定制。设计过程被简化为一个名为“NeuroCaptain”的Blender插件。
使用直观的用户界面，我们利用脑图谱创建了各种头帽模型，并与社区共享。由此产生的基于网格的头帽设计可以使用现成的打印机和细丝轻松进行3D打印，同时准确保留头部几何形状和地标。
本研究中开发的方法为社区成员提供了一个广泛可用的工具，用于设计、定制和制造包含解剖学衍生地标的头帽。这不仅允许个性化头帽设计提高准确性，还为社区提供了一个开放平台，以提出标准化头帽，便于多中心数据收集和共享。
