Assessment of the bony resection margin distance in bone-invasive oral cancer using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

OBJECTIVES: Inadequate resection margins of less than 5 mm impair local tumor control. This weak point in oncological safety is exacerbated in bone-infiltrating tumors because rapid bone analysis procedures do not exist. This study aims to assess the bony resection margin status of bone-invasive oral cancer using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: LIBS experiments were performed on natively lasered, tumor-infiltrated mandibular cross-sections from 10 patients. In total, 5,336 spectra were recorded at defined distances from the tumor border. Resection margins < 1 mm were defined as very close, from 1-5 mm as close, and > 5 mm as clear. The spectra were histologically validated. Based on the LIBS spectra, the discriminatory power of potassium (K) and soluble calcium (Ca) between bone-infiltrating tumor tissue and very close, close, and clear resection margins was determined. RESULTS: LIBS-derived electrolyte emission values of K and soluble Ca as well as histological parameters for bone neogenesis/fibrosis and lymphocyte/macrophage infiltrates differ significantly between bone-infiltrating tumor tissue spectra and healthy bone spectra from very close, close, and clear resection margins (p < 0.0001). Using LIBS, the transition from very close resection margins to bone-infiltrating tumor tissue can be determined with a sensitivity of 95.0%, and the transition from clear to close resection margins can be determined with a sensitivity of 85.3%. CONCLUSIONS: LIBS can reliably determine the boundary of bone-infiltrating tumors and might provide an orientation for determining a clear resection margin. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: LIBS could facilitate intraoperative decision-making and avoid inadequate resection margins in bone-invasive oral cancer.

Measuring Dissolved Methane in Aquatic Ecosystems Using An Optical Spectroscopy Gas Analyzer.

Measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and pools in ecosystems are becoming increasingly common in ecological studies due to their relevance to climate change. With it, the need for analytical platforms adaptable to measuring different pools and fluxes within research groups also grows. This study aims to develop a procedure to use portable optical spectroscopy-based gas analyzers, originally designed and marketed for gas flux measurements, to measure GHG concentrations in aqueous samples. The protocol involves the traditional headspace equilibration technique followed by the injection of a headspace gas subsample into a chamber connected through a closed loop to the inlet and outlet ports of the gas analyzer. The chamber is fabricated from a generic mason jar and simple laboratory supplies, and it is an ideal solution for samples that may require pre-injection dilution. Methane concentrations measured with the chamber are tightly correlated (r2 > 0.98) with concentrations determined separately through gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) on subsamples from the same vials. The procedure is particularly relevant for field studies in remote areas where chromatography equipment and supplies are not readily available, offering a practical, cheaper, and more efficient solution for measuring methane and other dissolved greenhouse gas concentrations in aquatic systems.

Elastic Scattering Spectroscopy on Patient-Selected Lesions Concerning for Skin Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Access to dermatologists is limited in parts of the US, making primary care clinicians (PCCs) integral for early detection of skin cancers. A handheld device using elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS) was developed to aid PCCs in their clinical assessment of skin lesions. METHODS: In this prospective study, 3 PCCs evaluated skin lesions reported by patients as concerning and scanned each lesion with the handheld ESS device. The comparison was pathology results or a 3-dermatologist panel examining high resolution dermatoscopic and clinical images. PCCs reported their diagnosis, management decision, and confidence level for each lesion. Evaluation of results included sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), and Area Under the Curve (AUC). RESULTS: A total of 155 patients and 178 lesions were included in the final analysis. The most commonly patient-reported concerning feature was "new or changing lesion" (91.6%). Device diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 90.0% and 60.7%, respectively, based on biopsy result or dermatologist panel reference standard; comparatively, PCC sensitivity was 40.0% and 84.8% specificity without the use of the device. Device NPV was 98.9%, and device PPV was 13.6%. The device recommended patient referral to dermatology with 88.2% concordance with the dermatologist panel. AUC for the device and PCCs were 0.815 and 0.643, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the ESS device by PCCs can improve diagnostic and management sensitivity for select malignant skin lesions by correctly classifying most benign lesions of patient concern. This may increase skin cancer detection while improving access to specialist care.

Hyperspectral Characteristics and SPAD Estimation of Wheat Leaves under CO2 Microleakage Stress.

To non-destructively and rapidly monitor the chlorophyll content of winter wheat leaves under CO2 microleakage stress, and to establish the quantitative relationship between chlorophyll content and sensitive bands in the winter wheat growing season from 2023 to 2024, the leakage rate was set to 1 L/min, 3 L/min, 5 L/min, and 0 L/min through field experiments. The dimensional reduction was realized, fractional differential processing of a wheat canopy spectrum was carried out, a multiple linear regression (MLR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) estimation model was constructed using a SPA selection band, and the model's accuracy was evaluated. The optimal model for hyperspectral estimation of wheat SPAD under CO2 microleakage stress was screened. The results show that the spectral curves of winter wheat leaves under CO2 microleakage stress showed a "red shift" of the green peak and a "blue shift" of the red edge. Compared with 1 L/min and 3 L/min, wheat leaves were more affected by CO2 at 5 L/min. Evaluation of the accuracy of the MLR and PLSR models shows that the MLR model is better, where the MLR estimation model based on 1.1, 1.8, 0.4, and 1.7 differential SPAD is the best for leakage rates of 1 L/min, 3 L/min, 5 L/min, and 0 L/min, with validation set R2 of 0.832, 0.760, 0.928, and 0.773, which are 11.528, 14.2, 17.048, and 37.3% higher than the raw spectra, respectively. This method can be used to estimate the chlorophyll content of winter wheat leaves under CO2 trace-leakage stress and to dynamically monitor CO2 trace-leakage stress in crops.

Determination of uranium isotopes in ground water by alpha spectrometry and associated age-dependent ingestion dose.

Determination of uranium isotopes in ground water plays a key role in assessment of geochemical condition of ground water and for estimating ingestion dose received by the general public because of uranium intake through drinking water. An attempt has been made in the present study to estimate isotopic composition and activity ratios (AR) of uranium isotopes by analysing the ground water samples using alpha spectrometry. Associated age-dependent ingestion dose was also calculated for the public of different age groups. 238U, 235U and 234U activity concentration was found to vary in the ranges of 5.85 ± 1.19 to 76.67 ± 4.16, < 0.90 to 3.15 ± 0.84 and 6.52 ± 1.25 to 107.02 ± 4.92 mBq/L, respectively. 235U/238U AR varies from 0.038 to 0.068 with an average of 0.047 which is close to 0.046 implies that uranium in the ground water is from natural origin. Uranium concentration was found to vary in the range of 0.47 ± 0.10 µg/L to 6.20 ± 0.34 µg/L with a mean value of 3.01 ± 0.23 µg/L, which is much lower than national as well as international recommendation value. Annual ingestion dose to the public of all age groups for uranium intake through drinking water ranges from 0.60 ± 0.11 to 19.50 ± 1.03 µSv/y.

Neutron spectrum measurements near KAMINI reactor south beam vault door using nested neutron spectrometer.

KAlpakkam MINI reactor (KAMINI) is a 233U fuelled research reactor has various neutron irradiation locations for experimental purposes. The pit at the south beam end of KAMINI reactor is being extensively utilised for neutron attenuation experiments in prospective shielding materials as well as for neutron radiography. During reactor operation, it will be closed by a movable shield. A vault door is located above the shield and the movable shield is used to attenuate streaming neutrons and gamma-rays during reactor operation. Even with the shield, there exists significant dose because of streaming neutrons and gamma rays. Its variation depends on the power of the reactor. The neutron and gamma dose rates close to the south beam vault door have recently been found to be 275-300 µSv/h and 175-200 µSv/h, respectively, when the reactor is operating at 10 kW. In order to characterise the streaming neutron spectra of vault door place for the first time, measurements are done using the Nested Neutron Spectrometer. Along with the neutron flux, neutron mean energy and ambient dose-equivalent rate are also measured and compared with earlier measurements carried out inside the south beam pit. It is observed that the presence of paraffin shield reduces the neutron average energy from 370 to 178 keV. Apart from energy reduction, 10 kW normalised neutron flux of south beam pit is also attenuated by the shield by 25 000 times and it is found that the neutron spectrum of the measured location is also more thermalized. Neutron reference data of the location are generated.

Chassis-based fiber-coupled optical probe design for reproducible quantitative diffuse optical spectroscopy measurements.

Advanced optical neuromonitoring of cerebral hemodynamics with hybrid diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) methods holds promise for non-invasive characterization of brain health in critically ill patients. However, the methods' fiber-coupled patient interfaces (probes) are challenging to apply in emergent clinical scenarios that require rapid and reproducible attachment to the head. To address this challenge, we developed a novel chassis-based optical probe design for DOS/DCS measurements and validated its measurement accuracy and reproducibility against conventional, manually held measurements of cerebral hemodynamics in pediatric swine (n = 20). The chassis-based probe design comprises a detachable fiber housing which snaps into a 3D-printed, circumferential chassis piece that is secured to the skin. To validate its reproducibility, eight measurement repetitions of cerebral tissue blood flow index (BFI), oxygen saturation (StO2), and oxy-, deoxy- and total hemoglobin concentration were acquired at the same demarcated measurement location for each pig. The probe was detached after each measurement. Of the eight measurements, four were acquired by placing the probe into a secured chassis, and four were visually aligned and manually held. We compared the absolute value and intra-subject coefficient of variation (CV) of chassis versus manual measurements. No significant differences were observed in either absolute value or CV between chassis and manual measurements (p > 0.05). However, the CV for BFI (mean ± SD: manual, 19.5% ± 9.6; chassis, 19.0% ± 10.8) was significantly higher than StO2 (manual, 5.8% ± 6.7; chassis, 6.6% ± 7.1) regardless of measurement methodology (p<0.001). The chassis-based DOS/DCS probe design facilitated rapid probe attachment/re-attachment and demonstrated comparable accuracy and reproducibility to conventional, manual alignment. In the future, this design may be adapted for clinical applications to allow for non-invasive monitoring of cerebral health during pediatric critical care.

One-to-Nine Single Spectroscopic Intelligent Probe for Risk Assessment of Multiple Metals in Drinking Water.

26% of the world's population lacks access to clean drinking water; clean water and sanitation are major global challenges highlighted by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, indicating water security in public water systems is at stake today. Water monitoring using precise instruments by skilled operators is one of the most promising solutions. Despite decades of research, the professionalism-convenience trade-off when monitoring ubiquitous metal ions remains the major challenge for public water safety. Thus, to overcome these disadvantages, an easy-to-use and highly sensitive visual method is desirable. Herein, an innovative strategy for one-to-nine metal detection is proposed, in which a novel thiourea spectroscopic probe with high 9-metal affinity is synthesized, acting as "one", and is detected based on the 9 metal-thiourea complexes within portable spectrometers in the public water field; this is accomplished by nonspecialized personnel as is also required. During the processing of multimetal analysis, issues arise due to signal overlap and reproducibility problems, leading to constrained sensitivity. In this innovative endeavor, machine learning (ML) algorithms were employed to extract key features from the composite spectral signature, addressing multipeak overlap, and completing the detection within 30-300 s, thus achieving a detection limit of 0.01 mg/L and meeting established conventional water quality standards. This method provides a convenient approach for public drinking water safety testing.

Binding of single/double stranded ct-DNA with graphene oxide­silver nanocomposites in vitro: A multispectroscopic approach.

The fundamental binding of single-stranded (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) with graphene oxide-Ag nanocomposites (GO-AgNCPs) has been systematically investigated by multi spectroscopic methods, i.e. ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy, and circular dichroism (CD). The experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that both ssDNA and dsDNA can be adsorbed onto the GO-AgNCPs surface. All of the evidence indicated that there were relatively strong binding of ssDNA/dsDNA with GO-AgNCPs. The article compares the differences in binding between the two types of DNA and the nanomaterials using spectroscopic and thermodynamic data. UV-vis absorption spectroscopy experiments indicate that the characteristic absorbance intensity of both ss DNA and ds DNA increases, but the rate of change in absorbance is different. The fluorescence results revealed that ss/dsDNA could interact with the GO-AgNCPs surface, in spite of the different binding affinities. The Ka value of ssDNA binding with GO-AgNCPs is greater than that of dsDNA at each constant temperature, indicating that the affinity of dsDNA toward GO-AgNCPs is comparatively weak. Molecular docking studies have corroborated the mentioned experimental results. The calculated thermodynamic parameters showed that the binding process was thermodynamically spontaneous, van der Waals force and hydrogen bonding played predominant roles in the binding process. The mechanism of ss/ds DNA binding with GO-AgNCPs was also investigated, and the results indicated that GO-AgNCPs directly binds to the minor groove of ss/ds DNA by replacing minor groove binders.

Nanoscale Perturbations of Lipid Bilayers Induced by Magainin 2: Insights from AFM Imaging and Force Spectroscopy.

This study explores the impact of the antimicrobial peptide magainin 2 (Mag2) on lipid bilayers with varying compositions. We employed high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) to reveal a dynamic spectrum of structural changes induced by Mag2. Our AFM imaging unveiled distinct structural alterations in zwitterionic POPC bilayers upon Mag2 exposure, notably the formation of nanoscale depressions within the bilayer surface, which we term as "surface pores" to differentiate them from transmembrane pores. These surface pores are characterized by a limited depth that does not appear to fully traverse the bilayer and reach the opposing leaflet. Additionally, our AFM-based force spectroscopy investigation on POPC bilayers revealed a reduction in bilayer puncture force (FP) and Young's modulus (E) upon Mag2 interaction, indicating a weakening of bilayer stability and increased flexibility, which may facilitate peptide insertion. The inclusion of anionic POPG into POPC bilayers elucidated its modulatory effects on Mag2 activity, highlighting the role of lipid composition in peptide-bilayer interactions. In contrast to surface pores, Mag2 treatment of E. coli total lipid extract bilayers resulted in increased surface roughness, which we describe as a fluctuation-like morphology. We speculate that the weaker cohesive interactions between heterogeneous lipids in E. coli bilayers may render them more susceptible to Mag2-induced perturbations. This could lead to widespread disruptions manifested as surface fluctuations throughout the bilayer, rather than the formation of well-defined pores. Together, our findings of nanoscale bilayer perturbations provide useful insights into the molecular mechanisms governing Mag2-membrane interactions.

Direct Spectroscopic Ferrochelatase Assay.

Ferrochelatases (E.C. 4.99.1.1) catalyze the insertion of ferrous iron into either protoporphyrin IX to make protoheme IX or coproporphyrin III to make coproheme III. Ferrochelatase activity in extracts or purified protein can be measured via several assays. Here, we describe a rapid real-time direct spectroscopic ferrochelatase assay for both protoporphyrin and coproporphyrin ferrochelatases.

Unravelling the Biophysical Properties of Chromatin Proteins and DNA Using Acoustic Force Spectroscopy.

Acoustic force spectroscopy (AFS) is a single-molecule micromanipulation technique that uses sound waves to exert force on surface-tethered DNA molecules in a microfluidic chamber. As large numbers of individual protein-DNA complexes are tracked in parallel, AFS provides insight into the individual properties of such complexes as well as their population averages. In this chapter, we describe in detail how to perform AFS experiments specifically on bare DNA, protein-DNA complexes, and how to extract their (effective) persistence length and contour length from force-extension relations.

A feasible way to explore real blood vessels thermal responses to laser irradiation by combing optical clearing and the reflectance spectra measurements: animal experiment study.

Laser therapy has been widely used to treat port-wine stains (PWS) and other cutaneous vascular lesions via selective photothermolysis. Animal models are a valuable tool for investigating thermal responses beneath the skin. However, in previous animal experiments, such as the dorsal skin chamber model, one side of the skin was removed, resulting in the loss of mechanical support for the target blood vessel. In this study, the optical clearing technique was applied to the dorsal skin, allowing direct observation of real thermal responses within the tissue without removing the covering skin. The target blood vessels were irradiated with a pulsed 1064 nm Nd: YAG laser. The corresponding thermal responses were recorded using a CCD camera. Additionally, variations in skin reflectance spectra were measured before and after laser irradiation. Due to the optical clearing and reflectance spectra measurement, vessel responses such as contraction, reperfusion, and full occlusion were correlated with specific variation patterns in reflectance spectral signals.

Role of AcrAB-TolC and Its Components in Influx-Efflux Dynamics of QAC Drugs in Escherichia coli Revealed Using SHG Spectroscopy.

Multidrug efflux pumps, especially those belonging to the class of resistance-nodulation-division (RND), are the key contributors to the rapidly growing multidrug resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. Understanding the role of efflux pumps in real-time drug transport dynamics across the complex dual-cell membrane envelope of Gram-negative bacteria is thus crucial for developing efficient antibiotics against them. Here, we employ second harmonic generation-based nonlinear spectroscopy to study the role of the tripartite efflux pump and its individual components. We systematically investigate the effect of periplasmic adaptor protein AcrA, inner membrane transporter protein AcrB, and outer membrane channel TolC on the overall drug transport in live Acr-type Escherichia coli and its mutant strain cells. Our results reveal that when one of its components is missing, the tripartite AcrAB-TolC efflux pump machinery in Escherichia coli can effectively function as a bipartite system, a fact that has never been demonstrated in live Gram-negative bacteria.

Exploring and analyzing the role of hybrid spectrum sensing methods in 6G-based smart health care applications.

Background: Researchers are focusing their emphasis on quick and real-time healthcare and monitoring systems because of the contemporary modern world's rapid technological improvements. One of the best options is smart healthcare, which uses a variety of on-body and off-body sensors and gadgets to monitor patients' health and exchange data with hospitals and healthcare professionals in real time. Utilizing the primary user (PU) spectrum, cognitive radio (CR) can be highly useful for efficient and intelligent healthcare systems to send and receive patient health data. Methods: In this work, we propose a method that combines energy detection (ED) and cyclostationary (CS) spectrum sensing (SS) algorithms. This method was used to test spectrum sensing in CR-based smart healthcare systems. The proposed ED-CS in cognitive radio systems improves the precision of the spectrum sensing. Owing to its straightforward implementation, ED is initially used to identify the idle spectrum. If the ED cannot find the idle spectrum, the signals are found using CS-SS, which uses the cyclic statistical properties of the signals to separate the main users from the interference. Results: In the simulation analysis, the probability of detection (Pd), probability of a false alarm (Pfa), power spectral density (PSD), and bit error rate (BER) of the proposed ED-CS is compared to those of the traditional Matched Filter (MF), ED, and CS. Conclusions: The results indicate that the suggested strategy improves the performance of the framework, making it more appropriate for smart healthcare applications.

Detecting sorghum aphid infestation in grain sorghum using leaf spectral response.

Sorghum aphid, Melanaphis sorghi (Theobald) have become a major economic pest in sorghum causing 70% yield loss without timely insecticide applications. The overarching goal is to develop a monitoring system for sorghum aphids using remote sensing technologies to detect changes in plant-aphid density interactions, thereby reducing scouting time. We studied the effect of aphid density on sorghum spectral responses near the feeding site and on distal leaves from infestation and quantified potential systemic effects to determine if aphid feeding can be detected. A leaf spectrometer at 400-1000 nm range was used to measure reflectance changes by varying levels of sorghum aphid density on lower leaves and those distant to the caged infestation. Our study results demonstrate that sorghum aphid infestation can be determined by changes in reflected light, especially between the green-red range (550-650 nm), and sorghum plants respond systemically. This study serves as an essential first step in developing more effective pest monitoring systems for sorghum aphids, as leaf reflection sensors can be used to identify aphid feeding regardless of infestation location on the plant. Future research should address whether such reflectance signatures can be detected autonomously using small unmanned aircraft systems or sUAS equipped with comparable sensor technologies.

Single-Particle Spectroscopic Chromatography Reveals Heterogeneous RNA Loading and Size Correlations in Lipid Nanoparticles.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) have emerged as pivotal delivery vehicles for RNA therapeutics. Previous research and development usually assumed that LNPs are homogeneous in population, loading density, and composition. Such perspectives are difficult to examine due to the lack of suitable tools to characterize these physicochemical properties at the single-nanoparticle level. Here, we report an integrated spectroscopy-chromatography approach as a generalizable strategy to dissect the complexities of multicomponent LNP assembly. Our platform couples cylindrical illumination confocal spectroscopy (CICS) with single-nanoparticle free solution hydrodynamic separation (SN-FSHS) to simultaneously profile population identity, hydrodynamic size, RNA loading levels, and distributions of helper lipid and PEGylated lipid of LNPs at the single-particle level and in a high-throughput manner. Using a benchmark siRNA LNP formulation, we demonstrate the capability of this platform by distinguishing seven distinct LNP populations, quantitatively characterizing size distribution and RNA loading level in wide ranges, and more importantly, resolving composition-size correlations. This SN-FSHS-CICS analysis provides critical insights into a substantial degree of heterogeneity in the packing density of RNA in LNPs and size-dependent loading-size correlations, explained by kinetics-driven assembly mechanisms of RNA LNPs.

Investigating the Free Volumes as Nanospaces in Human Stratum Corneum Lipid Bilayers Using Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS).

This work is the first one that provides not only evidence for the existence of free volumes in the human stratum corneum but also focuses on comparing these experimental data, obtained through the unique positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) method, with theoretical values published in earlier works. The mean free volume of 0.269 nm was slightly lower than the theoretical value of 0.4 nm. The lifetime τ3 (1.83 ns with a coefficient of variation CV of 3.21%) is dependent on the size of open sites in the skin. This information was used to calculate the free volume radius R (0.269 nm with CV 2.14%), free volume size Vf (0.081 nm3 with CV 4.69%), and the intensity I3 (9.01% with CV 10.94%) to estimate the relative fractional free volume fv (1.32 a.u. with CV 13.68%) in human skin ex vivo. The relation between the lifetime of o-Ps (τ3) and the radius of free volume (R) was formulated using the Tao-Eldrup model, which assumes spherical voids and applies to sites with radii smaller than 1 nm. The results indicate that PALS is a powerful tool for confirming the existence of free volumes and determining their size. The studies also focused on describing the probable locations of these nanospaces in SC lipid bilayers. According to the theory, these play an essential role in dynamic processes in biological systems, including the diffusion of low-molecular-weight hydrophobic and moderately hydrophilic molecules. The mechanism of their formation has been determined by the molecular dynamics of the lipid chains.

Spectroscopic detection of bioaerosols with the wibs-4+: Anthropogenic and meteorological impacts.

This research builds upon a previous study that explored the potential of the modified WIBS-4+ to selectively differentiate and detect different bioaerosol classes. The current work evaluates the influence of meteorological and air quality parameters on bioaerosol concentrations, specifically pollen and fungal spore dynamics. Temperature was found to be the most influential parameter in terms of pollen production and release, showing a strong positive correlation. Wind data analysis provided insights into the potential geographic origins of pollen and fungal spore concentrations. Fungal spores were primarily shown to originate from a westerly direction, corresponding to agricultural land use, whereas pollen largely originated from a North-easterly direction, corresponding to several forests. The influence of air quality was also analysed to understand its potential impact on the WIBS fluorescent parameters investigated. Most parameters had a negative association with fungal spore concentrations, whereas several anthropogenic influences showed notable positive correlations with daily pollen concentrations. This is attributed to similar driving forces (meteorological parameters) and geographical origins. In addition, the WIBS showed a significant correlation with anthropogenic pollutants originating from combustion sources, suggesting the potential for such modified spectroscopic instruments to be utilized as air quality monitors. By combining all meteorological and pollution data along with WIBS-4+ channel data, a set of Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analyses were completed. Successful results with R2 values ranging from 0.6 to 0.8 were recorded. The inclusion of meteorological parameters was dependent on the spore or pollen type being examined.

Compact and cost-effective laser-powered speckle contrast optical spectroscopy fiber-free device for measuring cerebral blood flow.

Significance: In the realm of cerebrovascular monitoring, primary metrics typically include blood pressure, which influences cerebral blood flow (CBF) and is contingent upon vessel radius. Measuring CBF noninvasively poses a persistent challenge, primarily attributed to the difficulty of accessing and obtaining signal from the brain. Aim: Our study aims to introduce a compact speckle contrast optical spectroscopy device for noninvasive CBF measurements at long source-to-detector distances, offering cost-effectiveness, and scalability while tracking blood flow (BF) with remarkable sensitivity and temporal resolution. Approach: The wearable sensor module consists solely of a laser diode and a board camera. It can be easily placed on a subject's head to measure BF at a sampling rate of 80 Hz. Results: Compared to the single-fiber-based version, the proposed device achieved a signal gain of about 70 times, showed superior stability, reproducibility, and signal-to-noise ratio for measuring BF at long source-to-detector distances. The device can be distributed in multiple configurations around the head. Conclusions: Given its cost-effectiveness, scalability, and simplicity, this laser-centric tool offers significant potential in advancing noninvasive cerebral monitoring technologies.