CEREBRAL AUTOREGULATION OF VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT, PREMATURE INFANTS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Preterm very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infants are at significant risk of brain injury due to their immature ability to regulate cerebral blood flow (CBF). Two of the most common brain injuries affecting this patient group are intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL). The onsets of both IVH and PVL are highly dependent on changes in CBF. For example, in the case of IVH, a decrease in blood flow can cause injury to immature capillary vessels in the germinal matrix. This damage can lead to hemorrhage if flow increases in the future. This study aims to investigate whether diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) could be used to measure blood flow changes in this delicate population. Because of these infants' fragile condition, there exist few methods to evaluate their CBF. None of these techniques are able to monitor continuously at the bedside.