In our latest work published in Biomedical Optics Express, Giovani Martins et al. demonstrate that noninvasive diffuse optical techniques can reliably measure brain physiology in children with sickle cell anemia at the bedside. Across different operators and repeated measurements for the same operator, parameters such as cerebral blood flow were consistent and reproducible. These results support the use of optical techniques as tools for routine monitoring of brain health and for tracking treatment-related changes in this population.

On December 18, 2025, Tisha Boodooram successfully proposed her PhD research in the Buckley Lab. Her work focuses on advancing diffuse optical spectroscopy to enable accurate and repeatable bedside measurements of cerebral hemodynamics.

Cerebral hemodynamics are tightly regulated to meet the brain’s high metabolic demands, but neurological diseases can disrupt this balance, making accurate and repeatable monitoring clinically valuable. Tisha’s research aims to establish the translational value of absolute, bedside, microvascular hemodynamic measurements across acute and chronic neurological diseases, overcoming limitations of existing modalities and prior relative-only optical approaches.

We are so proud of Tisha for reaching this important milestone and are excited to see her work continue to grow.

In the Buckley Lab’s latest publication in Biomedical Optics Express, Giovani Martins et al. demonstrates that cerebral blood flow measured by Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy, a portable, noninvasive light-based technique, correlates with transcranial Doppler ultrasound measurements in children with sickle cell disease – the standard clinical method to screen stroke risk in these patients. These results suggest that Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy is able monitor brain health at the bedside in this population.