Thibault Roumengous
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Thibault Roumengous, PhD

I develop wearable biosensors and the clinical evidence behind them, from prototype and algorithm through human studies and publication. My work brings engineering, applied physiology and clinical research together to move next-gen physiological sensing technology from military programs into neuro/cardiovascular and critical care.

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Thibault Roumengous standing by the water in San Francisco with the Bay Bridge behind him

About

Engineering, physiology, and the rest

I lead research and development at NIRSense Inc., a manufacturer of multimodal medical biosensors in Raleigh, North Carolina. My team covers algorithm development, clinical/preclinical research, data science and prototyping of new sensing methods. I also serve as Principal Investigator on research programs funded by US government agencies (DARPA, DHA, AFRL).

My training started in human physiology and rehabilitation in France, before moving to biomechanics and bioengineering, with research at Université de Nice and the University of Texas at Austin. My PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University (2021) developed transcranial magnetic stimulation methods to assess neuromuscular function after cervical spinal cord injury.

Outside the lab I compose and produce music, write in French (a book of poetry was published in 2013), and have trained for years in judo, kendo, freerunning and climbing. These days I play competitive tennis in USTA leagues. I have never treated intellectual and physical abilities as separate; learning a new skill is worth doing for its own sake. Those projects have lived on this site since before my PhD, and they still do.

Current work

What I work on

Medical device development

Wearable multimodal biosensors taken from prototype toward regulatory clearance: sensor design, clinical validation, verification and validation, and 510(k) submissions.

Multimodal algorithms

Advanced methods for real-time embedded algorithms that translate optical and electrical signals into a broad set of vital signs and derived physiological metrics, for patients, aircrew and divers.

Clinical and translational research

Studies from early feasibility to validation with academic medical centers and military sites, in cardiogenic shock, heart failure, hemorrhage, hypoxia and aviation physiology.

Defense research programs

Principal Investigator on programs for multimodal brain sensing and stimulation, and for helmet-compatible cerebral monitoring of military aircrew.

Career history, education and service are in the CV.

Research output

Selected publications

  1. Wearable Tissue Oximetry during Standardized Physiological Stressors in Chronic Heart Failure Outpatients T. Roumengous, A. J. Chauntry, C. Flippen, J. Wallner, D. A. Baran, D. D. Harkins. PreprintmedRxiv, 2026.
  2. Novel Wearable NIRS Device for Detecting Hypovolemia during Simulated Hemorrhage in Humans T. Roumengous, J. Wallner, B. Griffin, A. K. Davis, L. Hudson, V. Q. Dinh, R. Muthyala, C. A. Rickards, C. Boutwell. The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, 2025, 44(4):S214.
  3. Cerebral Oxygenation and Perfusion Kinetics Monitoring of Military Aircrew at High G using Novel fNIRS Wearable System T. Roumengous, R. C. Boutwell, J. Strohmaier, J. Allen, B. Goldbach, N. Marotta, T. Songkakul, S. Critcher, B. G. Morse, J. M. A. Beer, P. M. Sherman. Frontiers in Neuroergonomics, 2024, 5:1357905.
  4. Motor Evoked Potential Input-Output Curves Indicate Neuroplasticity After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury T. Roumengous, Y. Cho, Y. Zeineddine, C. L. Peterson. 11th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER), 2023, pp. 1-6.
  5. Paired Pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Assessment of Biceps Voluntary Activation in Individuals with Tetraplegia T. Roumengous, B. Thakkar, C. L. Peterson. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2022, 16:976014.
  6. Effects of Stimulus Waveform on Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Metrics in Proximal and Distal Arm Muscles C. S. Lynch, T. Roumengous, N. Mittal, C. L. Peterson. Neurophysiologie Clinique, 2022, 52(5):366-374.
  7. The Assessment of Biceps Voluntary Activation with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Individuals with Tetraplegia T. Roumengous, C. L. Peterson. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 2022, 40(3):169-184.
  8. Effect of Low-Cost Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Navigation on Hotspot Targeting and Motor Evoked Potential Variability in the Biceps Brachii T. Roumengous, A. B. Reutter, C. L. Peterson. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 2021, 39(5):319-328.

Several manuscripts are under review. The full list is on Google Scholar and in the CV.

Speaking

Selected talks and presentations

  1. Next-Generation Multimodal Wearable Biosensors: Translating Early Technology to Clinical & Operational SystemsASSIST Industry Meeting, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, September 2026
  2. NIRSense Aurelian: A Novel Multimodal Wearable Sensor for Tracking Cerebral PerfusionANESTHESIOLOGY 2026 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, October 2026 (senior author)
  3. Ultra-Thin, Helmet-Compatible Cerebrovascular Sensing: Advancing Operator State Monitoring for Army Future Vertical LiftMilitary Health System Research Symposium, August 2026
  4. Ultra-thin Helmet-Compatible NIRS/EEG-Based Cerebrovascular Monitoring Sensor System for Future Vertical Lift Operator State Monitoring IntegrationMilitary Health System Research Symposium, 2025
  5. Small Wearable Tissue Oximeter to Evaluate Microvascular Function in Chronic Heart Failure PatientsAmerican Heart Association Scientific Sessions, November 2024. Circulation, 150(Suppl 1):4142006
  6. Patient Monitoring with Ruggedized Wearable Sensor Patch during Large-Scale Casualty Evacuation ExerciseMilitary Health System Research Symposium, 2024
  7. The Aurelian System: Continuous, Wearable, Multimodal Cerebro-Physiological Monitoring with Electrical and Optical SensorsMTEC State of the Technology Meeting: Neurotrauma Diagnosis, Monitoring, and Assessment, Washington, DC, March 2024
  8. Cerebral Hemodynamics Monitoring of Military Aircrew at High G: Towards In-Flight Event DetectionMilitary Health System Research Symposium, August 2023
  9. Maximizing Cognitive PerformancePanelVERTEX, Human Performance, Austin, TX, December 2022
  10. Flight Environment Compatible Wearable fNIRS for Real-Time Monitoring of Aircrew Cognitive WorkloadPanelSEMICON West, Smart MedTech, San Francisco, CA, July 2022; also AHFE 2022, New York, NY
Thibault presenting at a podium in front of the ASSIST banner, Creating the next generation of health wearables. Invited talk, ASSIST Industry Meeting, NC State University, September 2026.
Thibault speaking on a five-person panel in front of the Capital Factory backdrop. Panelist, VERTEX Human Performance, Austin, December 2022.
Thibault Roumengous seated on stage during a conference panel discussion. On a conference panel.

In the lab

Hands-on testing

I regularly test our sensors and protocols on myself, from hypoxia and simulated blood loss to extreme cold and maximal exercise.

Thibault seated in the lab breathing through a blue mask connected to an altitude generator, with a sensor headband and a clinical monitor. Hypoxia test with an altitude generator, forehead sensors and a reference clinical monitor.
Thibault lying on a table with his lower body sealed inside a lower body negative pressure chamber. Lower body negative pressure, a laboratory model of blood loss used in hemorrhage research.
Two people wearing sensor headbands at a conference table, one tapping a tablet. Trying brain-sensing headbands with the team.
Thibault at a lab desk wearing a sensor band on his upper arm, with live signals on a laptop and a tablet
A thin sensor patch on the upper chest next to a phone held up to the camera. A chest sensor patch streaming to a phone app.
Thibault standing in a whole-body cryotherapy chamber with vapor rising, wearing a forehead sensor band. Whole-body cryotherapy, checking how tissue oxygenation signals behave at about -190 °F.
Thibault wearing a forehead sensor band, holding the cable module at his chest
Thibault sitting in a cold-water immersion tub wearing a forehead band and chest sensors. Cold-water immersion with a forehead band and chest sensors.
Thibault on a treadmill wearing a metabolic mask and chest sensors while two staff members monitor the test. Maximal treadmill exercise test with a metabolic cart and chest sensors.
Thibault breathing through a mask and hose while wearing a chest sensor harness and holding a finger pulse oximeter. Breathing low-oxygen air through a mask, with chest sensors and a reference finger pulse oximeter.
A person in a flight helmet fitting a helmet-compatible sensor

Beyond the lab

Music, writing, sport and code

Work I have made outside my day job over the years, kept here with the original recordings, books and videos.

Thibault on stage playing a pink electric guitar

Music

Animi, a progressive metal concept album built on Jack Vance's novels, plus video game covers and other recordings.

Listen →
 Printed copy of the poetry book Hurlements métaphysiques

Writing

French poetry published by Éditions Stellamaris in 2013, and short fiction ranging from science fiction to philosophy.

Read →
 Freerunning jump between two concrete walls

Sport

USTA league tennis (2026 North Carolina state champions), freerunning films, competitive judo, nearly seven years of kendo, and rock climbing.

Watch →
 Hands typing at a keyboard in front of two monitors showing code

Code

Side projects from 2D games written in Ruby to Python tools for motor-learning experiments and MRI processing.

Explore →

Contact

Get in touch

Email is the best way to reach me. For professional inquiries, LinkedIn works too.

Elsewhere: SoundCloud · Spotify · YouTube (music) · YouTube (sport)