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，早产的存活机会，定义为 在过去几十年中，怀孕37周前分娩的妇女人数稳步增加。不幸的是早产儿 特别是非常年幼（< 28周）和非常小（< 1000 g）的婴儿，非常容易受到脑损伤。这被认为 这是由于肺和心脏功能不佳以及大脑中的血管无法自我调节血液 流其结果可能是危险的低血流到大脑的时期，这可能导致永久性损伤。之一 最关键的时期是生命的最初几个小时，这段时间被称为黄金时间。本研究的目的是 开发一种易于使用的基于光的系统，用于在黄金时段监测脑血流。基于光 技术对于这种脆弱的患者群体是理想的，因为它们是非侵入性的， 头皮上的光源和探测器很少，非常安全。我们希望这项技术作为 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， 恢复正常流量的措施。反过来，这将避免与终身医疗问题相关的脑损伤类型， 例如大脑性麻痹和学习障碍，不幸的是，这在早产儿中非常常见

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