New Device Could Help Those Born Prematurely

The Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) recently donated $750,000 in grants to fund studies for a new device that is being developed to help nurture premature infants. Recent studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), show that cooling the brain of premature babies helps to decrease the possibility that they'll form cerebral palsy and have other neurological damage. A state of the art device has been created in light of these studies that is meant to measure the temperature of a newborn's brain.

Results of the Studies

In past years, doctors typically kept newborns warm and treated premature infants with medicine after being delivered. However, babies born prematurely lack a sufficient amount of oxygen, which ultimately causes them to develop disabilities and, in worst-case scenarios, die. Recent studies have shown doctors that the brains of premature infants actually need to be cooled because cooling the brain can effectively decrease its need for oxygen and even slow any damage from occurring. The grants provided by the NHI will enable physicians to develop an effective way to measure the brain's temperature.

Doctors Plan to Start Using Device

The new device, which will allow doctor's to measure the temperature of the brain tissue beneath the skull, is set to be developed by Meridian Medical Systems. Dr. Thomas Bass, one of the lead researchers set to test the device explains, “Precise brain temperature measurements are essential to maximize the benefit of therapeutic hypothermia.” (Source: Eureka Alert) Do you have a child who was born prematurely and developed cerebral palsy? If so, please contact us today to speak with an experienced birth injury attorney who will enable you to be compensated for the disabilities of your loved one.