SOUND: Study of auditory function and newborn brain development
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does the acoustic environment impact on newborn cerebral function as assessed using near-infrared spectroscopy and amplitude-intergrated EEG
IRAS ID
162758
Contact name
Topun Austin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 29 days
Research summary
Babies who are born very early (<26 weeks of pregnancy) are at high risk of developmental problems.
Better medical knowledge and technology have improved survival rates for babies born very early but there has been no real improvement in the numbers of these children who grow up with disabilities.
Sleep is very important for brain development and overall growth for babies and the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is very different to the environment in the womb. Medical alarms from essential equipment can create sudden increases in noise levels that can wake a sleeping baby and cause changes in heart rate and blood pressure.
This study will observe the brain oxygen levels and the sleep-wake activity in babies to everyday noises in the NICU. Small non-invasive sensors will be placed on the infants head: one will measure the changes in oxygen levels in the brain in response to noise; the second will monitor the electrical activity and show the sleeping cycles of the baby. Ambient background noise and noise levels inside the infants incubator will also be monitored in the range that the human ear hears.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0166
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion