BRAIN TEMPERATURE MONITORING IN NEONATES

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) represents a serious problem in newborns, occurring in 3-9 of every 1000 term infants, with about half of these HIE babies dying or suffering life-long severe handicaps, such as mental retardation or cerebral palsy. Current efforts to reduce the effects of HIE by hypothermia (cooling) have been hampered by the lack of a reliable noninvasive method of monitoring the infant's brain temperature during the hypothermic treatment, which lasts about 48 hours. This proposal will evaluate temperature monitoring using noninvasive dual frequency microwave radiometry of the skull. The Phase I objectives will include: 1) Design of a dual frequency waveguide transducer, 2) Investigation of printed structures for the dual frequency transducer, 3) Development of a sterile disposable interface, 4) Development of a transducer placement monitor to insure proper placement, and 5) Construction of a dielectric phantom and evaluation of thermal patterns using noninvasive radiometry and invasive thermometry. The technical challenge of Phase I lies in the development of the components needed to produce a system which can reliably detect and monitor temperature in the brain tissue, at a depth of at least 15mm, and development of an appropriate model (phantom) and the verification of the EM modeling data.