Researchers successfully used a noninvasive broadband optical spectroscopy (BOS) device to detect necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) early in premature infants.
Key Details
- 1BOS is a handheld device that measures reflected infrared light from the intestines to detect early NEC.
- 2The technology distinguishes NEC from healthy tissue within two minutes at the bedside.
- 3First-in-human study tested BOS on 96 premature infants younger than 36 weeks gestation.
- 4BOS produced safe, feasible, and detectable signal changes in infants with NEC.
- 5BOS may identify NEC before it appears on x-ray; prior x-ray is the current standard diagnostic tool.
Why It Matters
BOS could allow bedside, early, radiation-free detection of NEC—a life-threatening disease—enabling earlier treatment and potentially improving outcomes in neonates. The move toward new optical imaging modalities may supplement or even precede conventional radiology tools like x-ray in this clinical scenario.
Source
EurekAlert
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