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Brain imaging in neonates
Optical imaging of the neonatal brain
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Topun Austin
Perinatal Brain Injury and Repair Group, Institute for Women’s Health, University College London, 4th Floor, Rayne Building, 5 University Street, London WC1E 6JJ, UK; topunaustin@doctors.org.uk
Accepted 23 January 2007
Optical systems could be valuable tools for assessing cerebral function at the cotside
Keywords: functional imaging; near infrared spectroscopy; optical tomography; optical topography; perinatal brain injury
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The newborn brain is vulnerable to a variety of insults with potentially lifelong consequences. As our understanding of the mechanism of brain injury improves and new therapies are developed to prevent or minimise brain injury, new non-invasive methods are required to assess cerebral function at the cotside.
The application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for continuous monitoring of cerebral haemodynamics and oxygenation non-invasively was first reported by Jobsis in 1977.1 Since that time NIRS has become an effective research tool for studying infant cerebral haemodynamics and oxygenation.2,3 NIRS exploits the relative transparency of biological tissue to near-infrared light (700–1000 nm), and the wavelength-dependent absorption characteristics of haemoglobin, which vary with oxygenation. By monitoring the intensity of light passing through brain tissue at two or more wavelengths, observed changes in attenuation can be converted into changes in the cerebral concentrations of oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin.
An obvious application of
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