On Thursday, graduate student Rowan Brothers successfully defended his PhD thesis. Rowan’s thesis centered around the use of diffuse optical spectroscopies to provide biomarkers of brain health in children with sickle cell disease. His work lays the foundation for this promising application of the technologies. After graduations, Dr. Brothers will continue his impactful research as a postdoctoral scholar in our lab, further advancing our understanding of cerebral hemodynamics in sickle cell disease. Congratulations, Dr. Brothers! 🎉
Category Archives: Lab Updates
New paper out on the influence of source-detector separation on brain blood flow
Check out our latest paper in Neurophotonics! Lead author Hongting Zhao explores the influence on the choice of source-detector separation on the accuracy of brain blood flow measured with DCS. It is well known that perfusion in the scalp and skull can significantly influence Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS) estimations of brain blood flow. Analytical approaches that model the head as a layered structure aim to minimize these influences. Here we demonstrate that the choice of source-detector separations when using these models is imperative to minimize errors in the estimation of brain blood flow.
New paper out on the effects of blood transfusion in the brain
Check out our latest paper in Frontiers of Neurology. In this work, we used NIRS and DCS to monitor the effects of blood transfusion on the brain in children with sickle cell disease. The results demonstrate how diffuse optical spectroscopies may be a promising bedside tool for real-time monitoring and for goal-directed therapy aimed at reducing stroke risk in sickle cell disease. Congrats to lead authors Rowan Brothers and Paul Lee!