Cambridge ‘swimming cap’ brings hope for brain-injured babies

Three-week-old Theo falls fast asleep in his cot, unaware that he is helping test new technologies that could change the lives of others.

Dr Flora Faure gently puts him on a small black hat that resembles a swimming cap, or something a rugby forward might wear.

It is covered in hexagonal pellets containing technology that monitors how its brain works.

researchers Rosie Maternity Hospital Researchers in Cambridge say they are the first in the world to test a new technique that could speed up the diagnosis and care of children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy and learning disabilities.

It could be available in hospitals in the UK within a decade.

Researcher Dr. from the Fusion (Functional UltraSound Integrated with Optical Imaging in Newborns) study. “This is the first time light and ultrasound have been used together in this way to give a more complete picture of the brain,” says Faure.

In the weeks before and following birth, brains change every day.

Brain damage in newborns is a significant cause of lifelong disability and program to reduce brain damage Birth at birth is now becoming more common across the NHS.

The injury can affect the brain’s ability to communicate with the body, leading to conditions such as: epilepsycausing seizures or cerebral palsyIt affects movement and coordination.

like that It is more common in premature births however, it can be caused by a number of problems, such as oxygen deprivation, bleeding, infection, or birth trauma.

However, with five in every 1000 babies suffering brain damage, current monitoring methods have difficulty predicting how and to what extent the child will be affected as he or she grows.

Explaining how the valve works, Dr. “Light sensors monitor changes in oxygen at the surface of the brain – a technique known as high-density scattered optical tomography – and functional ultrasound allows us to image small blood vessels deep within the brain,” says Faure.

But the device is also different because it is portable; Therefore, they can monitor their babies more regularly and from the comfort of their cots.

Consultant neurosurgeon Dr Alexis Joannides believes this could have many advantages over traditional methods MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or WHOA (cranial ultrasound) scans.

“MRI has limitations for two reasons: One is the cost and availability of scanning slots,” he explains.

“The other is you have to take the baby to a noisy scanner, wait maybe 20 minutes for the scan, and then take the baby back again.

“This means, realistically, you can’t run a series of scans, but in the early weeks the brain can change every day, so having a method of doing repeated tests is incredibly powerful.”

MRI and CUS are also thought to have limited ability to predict the nature of any disorder due to the complex relationship between brain structure and function. Study conducted by Imperial College London reported in 2018 that accuracy could be improved with an additional 15 minutes of scanning.

It is hoped that by performing regular tests on babies, problems can be detected much earlier and treatment and interventions can be started earlier.

Charity Action Cerebral Palsy welcomed the research.

“For many children with cerebral palsy, the road to diagnosis is a long one, and families can spend years knowing their child is ‘at risk’ for developmental problems but not fully understanding what that means,” says founder Amanda Richardson.

“Technologies like this can make a big difference, but with already long waits for help it is important that the capacity of community therapists is increased to meet demand.”

Prof Topun Austin is a consultant neonatologist and director of the Evelyn Perinatal Imaging Center at Cambridge University Hospital. His research focuses on brain treatments at the edges of life, young and old.

He explains: “The fusion study aims to develop and demonstrate a system for bedside assessment of brain activity in newborn babies and is currently the first of its kind in the world.

“We have spent 12 months successfully proving the concept with the help of healthy and premature babies and will now focus on babies thought to be at higher risk of brain damage.

“Understanding brain activity patterns in both term and preterm babies may help us identify those most vulnerable to injury at an early stage.”

Theo is one of the healthy term babies participating in the trial, but his mother, Stani Georgieva, thinks it is important to contribute.

“His father and I are both scientists, and Theo will be able to benefit from all the advances made through research when he grows up, so we thought it was important for him to be a small part of that understanding,” he says.

Dr Joannides is also co-director. NIHR HealthTech Research Center in Brain InjuryBased in Cambridge. It exists to help develop new technologies that will improve the lives of people with brain injuries.

The center has funded a researcher for the study and will lend its expertise to help roll out the device across the NHS if the study is successful.

“We still have hurdles to overcome, but we hope to have a product that can be more widely evaluated within three to five years,” he says.

“If cost permits, it could be a screening tool to not only monitor babies with a known problem, but also help identify others who may be at risk.”