Newborns, especially premature newborns, could be faced with many medical ailments and doctors wanted to find ways to avoid exposing their lungs to harmful radiation that can result from x-rays. Now, researchers in Sweden have found a way to use near-infrared spectroscopy to image the “oxygen concentrations” in the lungs of newborns. This technology is a non invasive way to image the lungs of premature babies who have under-developed lungs without subjecting them to radiation.
The researchers reported that the spectroscopic method used both continuous wave and time resolved techniques to determine changes in tissue oxygenation. This technology allowed them to monitor even smaller individual changes than were caught through the use of traditional x-ray lens technology. In addition to being non-invasive the spectroscopic procedure provided the data in real time, which is crucial in the monitoring of a child with a critical illness or injury.
The way it works is that a medical professional holds the measuring instrument against the baby’s chest and another medical professional sits by the computer, monitoring the results. The goal of the researchers is to have the ability for the technology to operate with only one medical professional necessary to administer the test and monitor results. The advantage of the technology is that it can be left on the child to monitor lung function and not subject the child to any ill effects, as might occur with radiation. Additionally, with x-rays, there is no way to continuously monitor the child’s lung function.
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