Predicting the onset of intraventricular hemorrhage in premature infants by using functional optical imaging

Premature babies are under high risk of brain injury during the care period in nursery. The most common observed injury is Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH). Existing monitoring technology is neither efficient nor sufficient for predicting IVH before it occurs. Near InfraRed (NIR) can be used for continuous monitoring of neonate brain in real time and providing predictive, quantitative parameters for early detection of IVH. A method to predict onset of IVH by using cerebral oxygen saturation information obtained via NIR imaging is presented.