NeoGuard is a bed-side device for continuous EEG monitoring of the brain function in very ill newborn babies admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It is a product of the neonatal brain monitoring group, that is a research collaboration between groups from Leuven, Rotterdam, Ghent and Antwerp. (www.neoguard.net)
The neonatal brain is vulnerable to various insults occurring in the perinatal period. These include a temporary lack of oxygen and blood supply (asphyxia), metabolic disturbances (disturbances in blood glucose, calcium, sodium etc.), infections, stroke and trauma. Often the neonatal brain reacts to these injuries by suppression of the electrical activity of the brain cells (neurons) and by expressing seizures. A premature brain has similar EEG morphologies, for which an evolution towards a normal term brain is wished. Monitoring neonatal brain activity helps in detecting these harmful conditions and the evolution in an early and potentially reversible stage, allowing timely treatment. This will help to prevent serious damage to the brain.
There is an unmet need for reliable methods for automated EEG analysis. This demo will present methods developed by our research group for neonatal monitoring: automated seizure detection, artifact removal, background EEG analysis.
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