By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Any parent of a premature infant knows the agony of not knowing if their baby’s brain is healthy. An innovative new incubator fitted with MRI coils small enough for even the tiniest baby’s head is giving doctors at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital (HDVCH) the chance to track early brain development in a way not possible until now.
The Neonate Imaging Sub-System (NISS) recently acquired by the hospital is one of only ten in operation in the US. It enables MRI machines to capture high quality, detailed images of a preemie’s brain.
The images can be used to diagnose injuries, and they can help doctors track the development of very young brains. The information gathered will help HDVCH physicians contribute to a pool of research that could lead to breakthrough treatments.
"One of the things we can do with MRI is diffusion tensor imaging," says Doctor Brad Betz, medical director of radiology. "In early brain development, the nerves are naked. As they develop a sheath, water diffuses differently around them, which we can measure with MRI. This is something that mostly applies to kids, and we can track it to see if the nerves are developing normally."
Each year in the US, some 55,000 preemies under three-and-a-half pounds are born. Ninety percent survive, but up to half of them have neurologic problems including learning disabilities, seizures, and cerebral palsy.
"This device is a real joy, because it gives us the opportunity to understand brain development and maturation in a way we never had access to before," says Doctor Betz. "Up to now we didn’t have any way to monitor new treatments for these kids, and now we do."
Source: Brad Betz, MD, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital
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Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at
[email protected].
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