Cutting-edge baby brain scan technology is world first
Baby on the fUSiON Study wearing an imaging cap. Photo credit: CUH Communications
07 November 2025
A team effort to develop the world’s first cot-side functional neuroimaging technology to speedily detect brain injuries including cerebral palsy in newborn babies is being spearheaded in Cambridge.
The three-year Fast UltraSound Imaging with Optics in the Newborn (fUSiON) study, involving high-risk infants, is due to start at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH). If the study is successful, the wearable device, which fits like a swimming cap, could become common in every UK hospital.
Brain injury in the newborn is a major cause of lifelong disability. This includes conditions such as cerebral palsy, learning difficulties, epilepsy, and autism spectrum disorders. These result in significant physical, psychological, and economic burden on individuals, their families, and society.
Structural brain imaging with cranial ultrasound (CUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) remain the traditional way of imaging the brain in sick and preterm infants. However, both techniques are limited in their ability to predict the extent or nature of injury and any future impairment. This is because there is a complex relationship between brain structure and brain function. Furthermore, MRI scans are costly and cumbersome, meaning they cannot be performed at regular intervals.
