NeuroCatch Inc., a brain-focused health technology company committed to translating research innovations into real-world medical devices and applications, is pleased to announce a research collaboration in brain vital sign science with Dr. Michael Esser, a pediatric neurologist at the Alberta Children's Hospital, and clinical associate professor at the University of Calgary. This clinical study will use NeuroCatch Inc.'s NeuroCatchTM Platform to study brain function changes in children with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI).
The NeuroCatch Platform is an objective, rapid, neuro-physiological brain function assessment system. It enables the measurement of event-related potentials (ERPs) through a technology platform that is easy-to-use and readily accessible. It consists of a portable, all-in-one hardware and software system that captures electroencephalograph (EEG) data. It automatically extracts critical ERP brainwave information and rapidly translates this information into a user-friendly clinical report.
"The science of measuring brain function changes through ERPs has been around for decades, but there hasn't been much research around how these brain function components change in children, particularly those with mTBI and pediatric concussions," explains Dr. Michael Esser, the Director of the Neurocritical Care and Translational Research program at the Alberta Children's Hospital and the study's lead investigator.
"We are excited to use this technology as a means to safely compare neurophysiological markers of brain function changes in children with mTBI, and help researchers shed some light on why some children recover faster from traumatic brain injuries than others."
What's great about our NeuroCatch Platform, is the fact that it is non-invasive, fast, and easy-to-use, which makes it simpler for researchers to work with children especially in a clinical study like this."
Kirk Fisher, CEO of NeuroCatch Inc.
"Traditional brain monitoring systems can be more cumbersome and take upwards of an hour or more from start to finish, while the NeuroCatch Platform assessment is done in less than 10 minutes. Our goal is to make brain function monitoring more accessible and more commonplace for people, by making our device available to clinicians and researchers throughout Canada."
This study will be conducted at the Alberta Children's Hospital with patients who are referred to the Brain Injury Program. The study will evaluate ERPs in up to 105 children aged 8-18 years, looking at participants with persistent mTBI symptoms, those who recovered quickly from mTBI, those who have had multiple mTBIs, as well as children who have never had a concussion.
How the NeuroCatch Platform works:
The NeuroCatch Platform consists of EEG electrodes embedded in a mesh cap, which wirelessly interface with the custom software platform. The NeuroCatch software enables the user to setup a client for a scan: an approximately 6-min proprietary audio stimulus sequence that has been specifically designed to elicit desired brain responses.
The NeuroCatch Platform provides an objective neuro-physiological assessment of three key ERPs: Auditory Sensation (N100); Basic Attention (P300); and Cognitive Processing (N400). The data is then output into a NeuroCatch Platform Report, which clinicians can use to assist them in evaluating their patients.
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