FIBB: Functional Imaging of Baby Brains

Sponsor
Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation (Other)
Overall Status
Not yet recruiting
CT.gov ID
NCT05514665
Collaborator
McMaster University (Other)
25
1
18
1.4

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Infants are at risk of developing motor and cognitive neurodevelopmental disabilities as a sequelae to hypoxic-ischemic brain injury during the perinatal period. It is an ongoing challenge to predict the severity and extent of future developmental impairment during the neonatal period. This study will help test the feasibility of conducting a large-scale study that evaluates the role of diffuse optical tomography as a bedside neuroimaging tool in complementing the prognostic value of conventional and diffusion weighted MRI for predicting neurodevelopmental outcome in neonates with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Device: Diffuse Optical Tomography

Detailed Description

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury is a major cause of childhood disabilities including cerebral palsy, developmental delay, attention deficits, behavioral concerns, and learning disabilities. Accurate prediction of neurologic deficits in the neonatal period is difficult, especially the ability to predict later cognitive impairment and socio-emotional challenges. Many of these disabilities are manifested at school age when the child is beyond the critical time window of early brain development. Prognostic tools that help to identify neonates most at risk of developing neuro-deficits after perinatal asphyxia are needed and would enable targeted early intervention in infancy, when the developing brain is most amenable to positive changes and improve neurologic outcome. Currently, structural changes observed in MRI brain images are used to predict outcome. However, this modality does not provide information on brain function, nor is it a good prognostic marker of future neurocognitive outcome. Functional MRI (fMRI) is time-consuming and not commonly a part of clinical assessment of the neonates. Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) using near-infrared light has been applied in research settings to map the functional connections between key brain regions. This technology, although reported to be safe and reliable in small studies, has not been widely used in the neonatal clinical setting. This approach is based on the synchronous, spontaneous fluctuations of cerebral blood flow in different regions of the brain that are functionally, yet not necessarily anatomically connected. DOT combines the portability and cap-based scanning of EEG with spatial resolution high enough to create detailed cortical maps of the neonatal brain. Compared to MRI and fMRI brain imaging, DOT is portable, light weight, has high body motion tolerance, does not produce noise and does not require infant sedation. It has the potential to be a powerful bedside non-invasive clinical neuroimaging tool. Currently, the predictive accuracy of DOT based neonatal brain connectivity measures in prognosticating early childhood is unknown. This study aims to assess the feasibility of the processes that are key to the success of a large-scale prospective study aimed at investigating the prognostic value of bedside DOT derived biomarker in neonatal brain after perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

Study Design

Study Type:
Observational
Anticipated Enrollment :
25 participants
Observational Model:
Cohort
Time Perspective:
Prospective
Official Title:
A Prospective Feasibility Study to Derive Novel Imaging Biomarker of Perinatal Brain Injury Based on Bedside Diffuse Optical Tomography in Neonates
Anticipated Study Start Date :
Oct 1, 2022
Anticipated Primary Completion Date :
Dec 31, 2023
Anticipated Study Completion Date :
Mar 31, 2024

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Neonates with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury

Neonates who are admitted to the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with a diagnosis of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy will undergo diffuse optical tomography measurements prior to discharge from Neonatal Intensive Care Unit . Their developmental assessment will be performed at 6 months and 12 months postmenstrual age.

Device: Diffuse Optical Tomography
Neonates once hemodynamically stable will undergo diffuse optical tomography measurements of functional brain connectivity at the bedside within 3-7 days after birth.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. Consent rate [12 months]

    An eligible patient (parents or substitute decision makers) consents to the study

  2. Rate of completion of study intervention [12 months]

    An enrolled patient receives DOT measurements taken within 7 days of life

  3. Rate of successful data acquisition [12 months]

    An enrolled patient completes resting state DOT data acquisition within 45 mins without sedation

  4. Rate of developmental follow up [12 months]

    An enrolled patient is assessed for neurological outcome at the age of 6 months and 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

  1. Resting state connectivity measures [12 months]

    Strength of network connectivity in pre-identified brain regions i.e somatosensory cortex and auditory cortex

  2. First time-point developmental assessment [6 months post menstrual age]

    Assessed by parent-filled questionnaire using Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 rd edition. Total score in each domain (Cognitive, Gross motor, Fine motor, Problem solving, Personal social) ranges from 0-60. Higher score is better.

  3. Second time-point developmental assessment [12 months post menstrual age]

    Assessed by parent-filled questionnaire using Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 rd edition. Total score in each domain (Cognitive, Gross motor, Fine motor, Problem solving, Personal social) ranges from 0-60. Higher score is better

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
1 Day to 7 Days
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
No
Inclusion Criteria:
  • Newborns admitted to the McMaster Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with the diagnosis of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy will be considered for this study

  • Gestational age of 35 weeks or greater

  • Birth weight more than 1.8 Kg

Exclusion Criteria:
  • suspected or confirmed congenital brain malformations

  • chromosomal anomalies

  • inborn errors of metabolism

  • congenital TORCH infections

  • neonatal encephalopathy other than hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

  • confirmed meningitis

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 McMaster Childrens Hospital Hamilton Ontario Canada L9G0C1

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation
  • McMaster University

Investigators

None specified.

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

Responsible Party:
Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT05514665
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • NIF-22535
First Posted:
Aug 24, 2022
Last Update Posted:
Aug 24, 2022
Last Verified:
Aug 1, 2022
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
Undecided
Plan to Share IPD:
Undecided
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
No
Keywords provided by Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation
Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Aug 24, 2022