Anoxic/hypoxic brain imaging map

Summary
Brain damage in newborns arises as a consequence of oxygen shortage in the brain. This injury is often difficult to diagnose in young children due to intrinsic differences between the developing and adult brain. Scientists at OHSU have developed a highly-accurate diagnostic analysis to localize brain injuries in developing as well as adult brains.

Technology Overview
One of the leading causes of infant brain damage is the lack of oxygen shortly after birth, called anoxia (prolonged lack of oxygen) or hypoxia (decrease in oxygen levels). Traditional imaging methods often fail to capture the brain damage in the newborn infants due to high water content and immature structures in the brain. Scientists at OHSU have developed a new MRI Imaging Map that can successfully distinguish anoxia and hypoxia in the brain using the combination of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and Arterial spin labeled perfusion imaging (ASL). This technology will allow increased accuracy of diagnosis of hypoxia and blood brain barrier integrity, especially in developing brains.
Features of this technology include:

• Highly accurate tool for diagnosing brain anoxia/hypoxia in patients of all ages.
• Color-coded map for easy interpretation of results.
• Automatically generated map from DWI & ASL imaging, which avoids the dependence, complexity, and inherent limitations of manual ROI selection and ratio calculations.
• Utilizes noninvasive, simple and widely available qualititative ASL imaging.
• Built-in analysis method can be integrated into existing MRI software for easier end-user adoption.

Publication
Li, N. et al Anoxic Brain Injury Detection with the Normalized Diffusion to ASL Perfusion Ratio: Implications for Blood-Brain Barrier Injury and Permeability. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology, 41(2020): 598–606. Link

Licensing Opportunity
This technology is available for licensing. ​

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