Discussing photonic tools for pediatrics in the 3rd BMPN annual meeting

TinyBrains participated in the gathering of experts focuses discussion on photonic techniques to improve diagnostics and treatment personalization in pediatrics.

On Wednesday 17th of April, the Barcelona Medical Photonics Network (BMPN) celebrated the third edition of its annual meeting. The BMPN formally launched in March 2021 as a platform to promote the research and development activities in photonics being carried out in the Barcelona region through long-standing collaborations between ICFO and its biomedical and clinical partners. This year’s edition was co-organized with ICFO’s two main medical partners in the field of Pediatrics: Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Children’s Hospital (SJD), where the event was held, and Vall Hebron University Hospital, as well as their respective research institutes.

The speakers reviewed different imaging and monitoring photonic techniques and their recent and ongoing applications in several medical fields, with special attention to brain pathologies and neurodevelopment in pediatrics. The invited talks were followed by a networking lunch, with a dedicated space showcasing TinyBrains and other initiatives.

Non-invasive tools to monitor the baby’s brain

TinyBrains coordinator and ICREA Prof. at ICFO Turgut Durduran explained the various optical tools that the group has developed over the years for non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring of infants, mainly based on the combination of two methods: near-infrared spectroscopy and diffuse optics. The hybrid resulting technique offers clinicians very useful information regarding the oxygen metabolism of tissues and the blood flow in patients, allowing doctors to make a better assessment of measures such as perfusion and intracranial pressure.

Emphasizing these techniques, Dr. Joan Sánchez de Toledo, Chair of Pediatric Cardiology at SJD and researcher at IRSJD, and Dr. Marta Camprubí, neonatologist at SJD and researcher at IRSJD, talked about TinyBrains, describing the studies that have been carried out with animal models and focusing on the recent clinical studies in newborn babies, explaining how monitoring the brain through these techniques before, during and after surgery can help guide the clinical actions to be taken.