ANIMATE- FUSION
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Application of wearable diffuse optical tomographic neuroimaging to map infant cognitive function (ANIMATE- FUSION)
IRAS ID
241042
Contact name
Topun Austin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The newborn brain is highly vulnerable to injury. Because the brain develops very rapidly over the first weeks of life, repeated brain imaging is likely to be of significant benefit to our ability to identify and treat at-risk infants. Because of the risks involved in moving vulnerable infants to the MRI scanner, most infants suspected of brain injury will only receive one MRI during their stay in hospital. As a result, technologies that can image the brain at the cot-side have huge potential.
Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) provides images of brain function using low levels of near-infrared light. The technique is portable and silent, allowing infants to be studied for extended periods at the cot-side.
Historically, the key limitations of DOT have included a relatively low image resolution and a limited field-of-view. Image resolution and field-of-view are both dependent on the number of sensors one can apply to a patient. Because current systems use optical fibres as sensors, which are relatively bulky, it is impractical to apply these sensors in high numbers. Researchers at UCL have now overcome these limitations, meaning we are now ready to study infant brain function using a wearable DOT imaging methodology.
The purpose of this study is therefore to map the emergence of functional organization of the infant brain. We will measure the functional responses of the infant brain at different ages in response to a range of established stimuli while applying the UCL wearable DOT technology.
This study will act as a basis for future studies of the use of these methodologies in the study of brain injury and particularly the emergence of cerebral palsy.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0358
Date of REC Opinion
16 Mar 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion