A recent clinical trial monitored the use of a new multiple biomarker system in mice to see how effective it is at monitoring disease progression and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the mice’s brains. People who suffer from TBIs require regular monitoring to see if they suffer any long-term damage to their brain. Current probes can either only monitor a single biomarker or require multiple tubes into the brain to monitor multiple biomarkers. The tested system can monitor up to four biomarkers at a time, then uses machine learning to assess the data. The initial results have been promising, though there is still a lot of testing to do. If testing continues to provide positive results, it could provide a way for hospitals to monitor patients who have TBIs and how their brains are responding to different treatments.
The new system includes a device with a single optical fibre that is inserted into the patient’s brain tissue. The fibre has four sensors to monitor different biomarkers, dissolved oxygen, glucose, pH, and temperature. Researchers tested the device on a healthy sheep’s brain, as well as in mice with positive results. The initial predictions by the machine learning modules based on the biomarkers have been accurate. This will help medical professionals to make better decisions about treatment in real time. Researchers plan to continue with the testing, with the hope that it could potentially add new biomarkers if the system proves to be beneficial to humans. This is still some time in the future as researchers need to determine how well the full body response for animals is before they can move to running tests on humans.
This is a new technology with a lot of potential, but it is still in the early phases, to learn more you can check out the article at New AI-enabled, Optical Fibre Sensor Device Could Help Monitor Brain Injury.
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