The need for neuromonitoring during the golden hour to prevent preterm brain injury

由于新生儿重症监护病房(NICU)的发展，早产存活的机会，定义为 在过去的几十年里，怀孕37周前出生的婴儿数量一直在稳步增加。不幸的是，早产儿， 特别是非常小(&lt；28周)和非常小(&lt；1000克)的婴儿，极易受到脑损伤。人们相信这一点 这是由于心肺功能不佳和脑血管无法自我调节血液所致 流。其结果可能是危险的低血流量时期，这可能导致永久性损害。其中一个 最关键的时刻是人生的头几个小时，也就是我们所说的黄金时段。这项研究的目的是 开发一种简单易用的、基于光线的系统，用于监测黄金时段的脑血流。基于灯光的 对于这一脆弱的患者群体来说，技术是理想的，因为它们是非侵入性的，只需要放置 头皮上的光源和探测器很少，极其安全。我们希望这项技术是作为 该项目将及时检测脑血流异常，这将使NICU团队能够采取纠正措施 恢复正常流动的措施。反过来，这将避免与终身医疗问题相关的脑损伤类型， 例如脑瘫和学习障碍，不幸的是，这些在早产儿中太常见了

Thanks to the development of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the chances of surviving preterm birth, defined as a birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy, has increased steadily over the past few decades. Unfortunately preterm infants, particularly the very young (< 28 weeks) and very small (< 1000 g), are extremely vulnerable to brain injury. This is believed to be due to the combination of poor lung and heart function and an inability of the vessels in the brain to self-regulate blood flow. The result can be periods of dangerously low blood flow to the brain, which can lead to permanent damage. One of the most critical times is the first few hours of life a period referred to as the golden hour. The objective of this study is to develop an easy-to-use, light-based system for monitoring brain blood flow during the golden hour period. Light-based technologies are ideal for this fragile patient population because they are non-invasive only requiring the placement of a few light sources and detectors on the scalp and extremely safe. It is our hope that the technology developed as part of this project will provide timely detection of brain flow abnormalities, which will enable the NICU team to take corrective measures to restore normal flow. In turn, this will avoid the types of brain injury associated with life-long medical problems, such as cerebral palsy and learning disabilities, that are unfortunately all too common amongst preterm babies