DoC Professor awarded £1.02M grant to look at neurological damage in premature babies

Professor Daniel Rueckert from the Department of Computing has been awarded an EPSRC grant for over £1.02M in partnership with the charity Action Medical Research to look at computer aided diagnosis of neurological damage to infants born prematurely .

The aim of this project is to develop tools and algorithms that will enable the early detection and diagnosis of abnormal brain development in premature babies with a view to offering the correct care and support. The incidences of pre-term births has significantly increased over the last decade and is a major cause of neuropsychiatric impairment in childhood. Such impairments undiagnosed can lead to long-term clinical, educational and social problems.

By interpreting high-resolution magnetic resonance (MRI) information within an evidence-based statistical framework, a more complete and objective, interpretation will be possible. The project will combine two emerging paradigms in computer and imaging science to address the challenge of identifying abnormal brain development and predicting outcome: Machine learning techniques and computational anatomy.

It is hoped that the project will offer researchers the possibility to learn patterns of normal and abnormal brain development and to predict the pattern of future brain development. The results of this research could significantly improve the ability to predict neurodevelopmental outcome in later life and improve parental counselling and the selection of infants for early therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing or ameliorating cerebral injury.

Written by: rsi