INFO: Workflow options for running NIRx-enabled experiments [42174]

This article applies to:

E-Prime Extensions for NIRx 3.0

Detail

E-Prime Extensions for NIRx 3.0 offers integration with NIRx's Aurora software. Therefore, users can configure many options for participants in E-Prime's NIRx device before testing begins. Psychology Software Tools and NIRx recommend three main workflows for users configuring and running NIRx-enabled experiments:

Default Workflow

A Default workflow contains no modifications of the default settings in the NIRx device and Signal Optimization definitions. The Default workflow is for study coordinators who need to verify the basic functionality of NIRx-enabled experiments before deploying them with participants.

NIRx-enabled experiments display the Host, Devices, and Configuration prompts when the default NIRx device settings are used. Additionally, users see the default Signal Optimization process.

Expert Workflow

An Expert workflow contains modifications to the Host, Device, and Configuration properties in the NIRx device. Additionally, users configure a Signal Optimization definition. The Expert workflow is ideal for study coordinators who are preparing NIRx-enabled experiments for lab/research assistants. Study coordinators typically have an idea of what criteria is acceptable during the Signal Optimization process. Therefore, they can adequately make a Signal Optimization definition to aid lab assistants to determine if the placement of sources and detectors on a participant is acceptable. The image below shows an example of a configured Signal Optimization definition:

In addition to the properties available in the NIRx device, study coordinators should decide how the Signal Optimization results are displayed. The Signal Optimization results display in a "simple" output mode by default. However, "verbose" output mode provides more details. The output mode may differ based on how comfortable a study coordinator is with the level of changes the lab assistant may make.

To configure the output mode, change the vOutput parameter in the NIRxSignalOptimization PackageCall to either "simple" or "verbose":

The image below shows what end-users see with verbose output:

With verbose output, the Signal Optimization results display in a table with multiple color-coded values. Green values are "excellent," yellow values are "acceptable," and red values are "critical" (i.e., non-ideal values). In the example image above, running subsequent Signal Optimizations, in addition to adjusting the placement of the sources and detectors, may improve the values in red and yellow.

The image below shows what end-users see with simple output:

The Signal Optimization results are in a basic summary with simple output. Users may make minor adjustments to the detectors and retry the Signal Optimization routine if the ideal criteria is not met. Users should discuss what adjustments to make with the study coordinator before the study commences.

Non-Expert Workflow

A Non-Expert workflow is mainly for lab assistants who run the experiment with participants. These experiments typically do not have prompts for Host, Device, and Configuration as they should be configured by the study coordinator (in the Expert workflow). During Signal Optimization, the acceptable criteria for continuing the experiment is displayed because the study coordinator created a Signal Optimization definition. By following the displayed results, users can choose to adjust the NIRSport's detectors and retry the Signal Optimization process or exit the experiment.

NOTE: We recommend running a NIRx-enabled experiment from a generated .ebs3 file in the Non-Expert workflow.