Cephalogics Demonstrates Repeatability of Brain Imaging Results in Visual Stimulation Study

Cephalogics today announced that it was able to demonstrate repeatability of brain images in healthy subjects in their visual stimulus study. This study also showed that the company’s High-Density Diffuse Optical Tomography (HD-DOT) system is capable of measuring and monitoring very small, focal changes in cortical perfusion resulting from visual stimulation in healthy volunteers. The results were consistent and repeatable across several months on the same subjects.

Cephalogics’ non-invasive, portable brain perfusion imaging system is being designed to provide bedside assessments and continuous monitoring of regional brain oxygenation in patients suffering from stroke or traumatic brain injury.

"We are very excited to demonstrate the repeatability of brain responses measured in healthy volunteers using our HD-DOT system,” said Chandran Seshagiri, PhD, Lead Research Scientist at Cephalogics. "In patients at risk for different neural pathologies, disease or injury may alter such brain responses. We believe this technology will help enable earlier identification and intervention in these situations.”

Retinotopic mapping of visual cortex activation has been widely used and accepted in early evaluations of PET and fMRI due to its ability to generate small, regional, perfusion changes. Using a typical retinotopic stimulation experiment, the compact non-fiber optic Cephalogics HD-DOT system demonstrated the ability to image retinotopic visual stimuli consistent with earlier studies using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and functional MRI (fMRI). These results replicated the previous work of Joseph P. Culver, PhD at Washington University in St. Louis, who is a pioneer of HD-DOT.

"These results show the sensitivity and spatial resolution of Cephalogics’ DOT system and its ability to perform such measurements with high repeatability,” said Joe Culver, PhD Professor at Washington University and Head of the Culver Optical Imaging Lab. "These are encouraging results for the Diffuse Optical Tomography/Imaging field and represents a step closer to Cephalogics’ mission to generate a high-performance compact portable DOT system.”

The changes in cortical perfusion measured by the Cephalogics HD-DOT system in this study were significantly smaller than the typical perfusion changes associated with brain injury patients. Similarly, the area of cortical tissue that changes in response to the visual stimuli used in this study was much smaller than the spatial extent of the perfusion deficits typically expected with brain injuries. The ability to measure perfusion changes in cortical tissue of such small magnitude and in such focal areas demonstrated that the Cephologics system could have the ability to achieve the necessary sensitivity and spatial resolution for imaging cerebral perfusion.

In addition, repeatability of the results in healthy subjects demonstrated the utility of the device for longitudinal monitoring of the same individual. Giving clinicians easy access to continuous imaging and perfusion measures at the bedside can help them identify and treat perfusion deficits in order to avoid ischemia and its associated adverse outcomes.

"Demonstrating repeatability across multiple measurements is an important achievement for Cephalogics,” said Jeff Caputo, General Manager of Cephalogics. "These results further validate our efforts to deliver an accurate brain perfusion imaging system that can be reliably used in recurring measurements on patients.”

The results of the studies were presented last week at The Society for functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy biennial meeting in Paris, France on October 13-16, 2016.

For more information about Cephalogics, visit www.cephalogics.com.

About Cephalogics
Cephalogics is developing a non-invasive, portable brain perfusion imaging system that is designed to provide clinicians with critical information for detecting and treating perfusion deficits and avoiding ischemia in brain-injured patients. The system is designed to "see” the brain through hair, skin and skull, mapping oxygen saturation in the brain and help to facilitate early interventions, improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Cephalogics’ system utilizes Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) to provide bedside imaging of multiple cerebrovascular regions within a patient’s brain. The system’s sensors consist of compact, high-density arrays with numerous near infrared (NIR) laser light sources and detectors to provide hundreds of simultaneous spatially resolved measurements per region. These measurements are processed in real time to produce regional maps of the oxygen saturation in cerebral tissue. Each sensor array covers a cerebrovascular area of approximately 40cm². Cephalogics is developing and commercializing an imaging system based on technology invented by Dr. Joseph P. Culver, a Professor at Washington University and a leading researcher in the field of Diffuse Optical Tomography. More information about the company can be found at www.cephalogics.com.

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