A first-of-its-kind functional connectivity neuroimager for early diagnosis of neonatal abnormal cerebral development – ConexUS

Neurodevelopmental disorders result from an impaired brain development and represent a major public health problem affecting 1 million newborns in Europe each year. Neurodevelopmental disorders are the source of permanent disabilities that manifest as motor, cognitive, learning or behavioral dysfunction. They include – but are not limited to – autism spectrum disorders, intellectual deficiency, epilepsy, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. More than one out of six neonates is considered at risk of exhibiting other neuropsychiatric disorders at later ages.
To date, there is however no efficient imaging modality capable of assessing the brain function of newborns at risk. Functional MRI presents many clinical constraints in terms of cost and access to patients, and EEG and NIRS are limited to spatially unresolved surface imaging.
Therefore, diagnosis is often performed when the child has reached two or three years old and observable cognitive and behavioral alterations have appeared. Such a delayed diagnosis is extremely distressing for patients' parents, and hinders the deployment of optimal therapeutic approaches.
We propose to address this unmet clinical need by designing a new generation brain imager, based on functional ultrasound imaging, dedicated to the newborn. We will develop a new technology and associated methodology to assess the brain functional connectivity directly at the baby's bedside. Functional connectivity will be measured and studied in term or premature newborns at unprecedented spatial and temporal scales.
The objective of our project is to propose a new clinical tool for bedside, longitudinal, performant evaluation of the brain functional connectivity in newborns, which will have the potential to transform patient care in neonatology services and to provide early biomarkers of neurodevelopmental disorders.