Treffer: Python GUI Tool for Fixed-Time Automatic Keyboard Marker Sending in fNIRS Experiments (Alternative to PsychoPy)

Why This Code Was Needed This Python tool was developed to simplify the experimental setup for functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) studies by replacing PsychoPy-based marker control with a minimal, standalone Python GUI. Traditionally, PsychoPy requires inernet connection or an additional laptop and serial connection to send time-fixed event markers to COBI, the data collection software used with fNIRS systems. This introduces complexity and hardware overhead. This revised solution enables keyboard-based automatic marker sending directly from the same computer running COBI (Cognitive Optical Brain Imaging Software) and connected to the fNIR Imager 1200/2000S (Biopac, USA). It also works seamlessly with fNIRSoft (v4.9) for data analysis. The tool has been successfully deployed in two peer-reviewed research papers: ICMI 2025 (accepted):Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Analysis of Interaction Techniques in Touchscreen-Based Educational Gaminghttps://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2405.08906 IEEE AIxVR 2024 (published):Cognitive Engagement for STEM+C Education: Investigating Serious Game Impact on Graph Structure Learning with fNIRShttps://doi.org/10.1109/AIxVR59861.2024.00032 This tool will also be used in future research projects that involve fixed-time experimental tasks with fNIRS, providing a reproducible and lightweight solution for sending event markers without the need for PsychoPy.More details in “From Complexity to Simplicity: Using Python Instead of PsychoPy for fNIRS Data Collection”. ; How to Use This Tool When you run the code, a simple graphical interface will appear where you can input the following: Baseline duration (in seconds) Rest period duration (in seconds) Task period duration (in seconds) Number of loops (how many times to repeat the task-rest cycle) After clicking “Start Sequence”, the tool will: Start with the baseline period by sending a keyboard marker ('1') Automatically start and end rest and task periods with markers ('2', '3', '4') Repeat the task-rest pair for the ...