CYRIL shines a light on the brains of newborn babies

The compact broadband near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system has been developed by UCL’s Multimodal-Spectroscopy (MMS Group) team.

The portable device, which is small enough for use in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and accident and emergency (A&E) rooms, is currently being used in preclinical studies and in clinical studies in the neonatal unit at University College London Hospital (UCLH).

During birth, disruptions in blood and oxygen supply to a baby’s brain can stop it from working properly. This can lead to an acute injury to the developing brain, and can ultimately lead to significant disability and death. While many babies make a partial to full recovery, some will develop cerebral palsy or behavioural problems.

Detecting and monitoring newborn brain function following such disruption is vital for doctors if they are to understand the effects of the injury and neurodevelopmental outcomes for the baby.

CYRIL is claimed to offer a safe way of shining light through the brain tissue of a newborn baby and detecting its function with a sensitive digital camera. This reveals detailed information about oxygen and metabolism levels, providing potentially life-saving information for doctors. The research team have demonstrated that the metabolic information collected by CYRIL can identify brain injury severity.