Electroencephalography (EEG) is a safe, noninvasive technique for monitoring neonatal brain function. Acute and long-term EEG monitoring of infants has clinical utility for evaluating the effects of hypoxic ischemic insults and detecting the presence of epileptic activity. Medical intervention may be effective for several neonatal brain pathologies if these are detected early. In Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), for example, disorders in the neurophysiology of sleep regulation may be potentially life-threatening for many infants, and may be amenable to treatment, but we have a limited understanding of both the normal neonatal sleep neurophysiology and its disregulation. The information available in neonatal EEG can be greatly enhanced by using an adequate number of electrodes to accurately map the spatial distribution of the EEG without spatial aliasing. The Geodesic EEG Neonatal Brain Monitor will be designed from experimental studies and theoretical simulations of the required sampling density for scalp potentials on the infant head. Dense Array EEG methods will be developed that incorporate the unique features of infant skull anatomy to estimate the potentials in the brain of the infant. The Geodesic EEG Neonatal Brain Monitor will be adapted for a variety of clinical uses, initially focusing on monitoring brain function in sleep in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A low-cost product line would result from the Phase II work, ranging from simple 4- channel EEG with vital signs monitors to a 256-channel dense array system. These products will bring major advances to monitoring both normal and pathological brain states of the neonate, providing information on the maturation of arousal control and sleep in preterm and full term infants that may be important in understanding a variety of clinical disorders.
