Comment Functional imaging is different (Score 2, Interesting) 93
Interesting article. What's special about this is that it represents functional, not anatomic, imaging of the brain. Bedside neonatal head imaging is currently dominated by ultrasound, useful in identifying areas of hemorrhage most common in preemies. MRI is also useful in neonates, but again usually looking for hemorrhage or abnormalities of brain morphology.
This technique uses light attenuation to measure oxygen consumption in the brain. Hemoglobin (Hb) is the oxygen-carrying molecule in blood. It can bind up to 4 oxygen molecules, and in this configuration is called oxyhemoglobin. When unbound, it's called deoxyhemoglobin. The technique they've developed can measure relative concentrations of the two forms of Hb allowing the computation of areas of increased metabolic activity or brain activity. The article boils down to being able to show increased activity in the upper extremity motor cortex when the researchers moved the kids' arms.
In this sense, the technique is more like PET or functional MRI (fMRI) imaging, and appears to be a visual analog to EEG, or electroencephalography, commonly used by neurologists to identify seizure foci. Instead of a series of squiggly lines (think polygraph test), this actually gives you a series of slices of the brain with color demonstrating the area of activity.
Clinically, this won't replace ultrasound or MRI, but it will provide more information about brain function. This may help determine an infant's prognosis after the ultrasound has already demonstrated a hemorrhage, or assist a neurosurgeon trying to eliminate a seizure focus.
This technique uses light attenuation to measure oxygen consumption in the brain. Hemoglobin (Hb) is the oxygen-carrying molecule in blood. It can bind up to 4 oxygen molecules, and in this configuration is called oxyhemoglobin. When unbound, it's called deoxyhemoglobin. The technique they've developed can measure relative concentrations of the two forms of Hb allowing the computation of areas of increased metabolic activity or brain activity. The article boils down to being able to show increased activity in the upper extremity motor cortex when the researchers moved the kids' arms.
In this sense, the technique is more like PET or functional MRI (fMRI) imaging, and appears to be a visual analog to EEG, or electroencephalography, commonly used by neurologists to identify seizure foci. Instead of a series of squiggly lines (think polygraph test), this actually gives you a series of slices of the brain with color demonstrating the area of activity.
Clinically, this won't replace ultrasound or MRI, but it will provide more information about brain function. This may help determine an infant's prognosis after the ultrasound has already demonstrated a hemorrhage, or assist a neurosurgeon trying to eliminate a seizure focus.
