Diffuse Optical Spectroscopies for Monitoring Cerebral Hemometabolic Stress in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease
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Brothers, Rowan
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Abstract
DIFFUSE OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPIES FOR MONITORING CEREBRAL HEMOMETABOLIC STRESS IN PEDIATRIC SICKLE CELL DISEASE
Rowan Brothers
88 Pages
Directed by Dr. Erin M. Buckley
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that has a profound effect on oxygen delivery to the brain. Specifically, these patients are at high risk of infarction, both silent and overt, that significantly affect neurological morbidity, long-term prognosis, and quality of life. A diverse array of techniques is available for measuring cerebral metabolic stress in patients with sickle cell disease. However, there is currently an unmet clinical need for continuous or longitudinal monitoring of metabolic stress for detection of progressive or recurrent infarct or for assessing the efficacy of current anemia therapies. Diffuse optical spectroscopies provide a potential low-cost, non-invasive solution for routine monitoring of cerebral metabolic stress in kids with sickle cell disease.
The first aim of this dissertation focuses on the operator-dependent reliability of routine assessments of cerebral metabolic stress with diffuse optics in kids with sickle cell disease. Quantifying the reliability of repeat measures with our devices will allow us a clearer view of the variation in our measures of cerebral metabolic stress.
The second aim of this dissertation focuses on validating our diffuse optical measures of cerebral blood flow against gold-standard measures of cerebral blood flow taken with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as validating changes in cerebral metabolic stress measured with diffuse optics against changes in cerebral metabolic stress measured with MRI. By quantifying the inherent baseline variation in our diffuse optical measurements and our ability to assess changes in cerebral metabolic stress following treatment, we are able to clearly demonstrate the feasibility and utility of diffuse optical spectroscopies for point of care assessments of cerebral metabolic stress.
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2025-05-28
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Dissertation