Real-time brain blood-flow and oxygen monitoring for newborns with birth-related brain injury
Official title: A Novel Wavelet Neurovascular Bundle for Real Time Detection of Injury in Neonatal Encephalopathy
Funded at Ut Southwestern Medical Center · NIH-11324991 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a bedside monitoring system that tracks brain blood flow and oxygen in newborns with suspected oxygen-related injury to help doctors spot damage early.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ut Southwestern Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Dallas, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2017 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $520,441 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS102617-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11324991 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Full-term or near-term newborns in the early hours or days after birth who show signs of neonatal encephalopathy or suspected oxygen-deprivation at birth, including those with mild clinical findings, would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Babies without signs of birth-related brain injury, those evaluated well after the initial newborn period, or infants whose problems are from non-hypoxic causes are unlikely to benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If your newborn shows signs of brain injury after a difficult birth, this project will place noninvasive sensors and use a new analytic method called a wavelet neurovascular bundle to watch brain blood flow, oxygen use, and how blood flow and brain activity are linked in real time. The team measures these signals in the first hours and days after birth to better tell which babies with mild symptoms might be heading toward worse injury. The goal is to give clinicians timely information to decide whether treatments like cooling are needed for babies who today might be missed. The group has already tested the approach in more seriously affected infants and published encouraging results.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help identify newborns with mild brain injury who would benefit from early treatments, potentially reducing death and long-term disability.
How similar studies have gone: Therapeutic cooling has helped babies with moderate to severe injury, but using real-time neurovascular monitoring like this is relatively new and early work from this team is promising but not yet definitive.
Where this research is happening
-
Ut Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chalak, Lina F — Ut Southwestern Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Chalak, Lina F
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.