Pilot study: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Neonatal Lung
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pilot study: Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Neonatal Lung.
IRAS ID
288916
Contact name
Porus Bustani
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
Imaging neonates is technically difficult. There are no standard methods for the assessment of lung structure in neonates; computed tomography (CT) is infrequently performed due to concerns with high-doses of radiation. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has historically been insensitive and slow. As such, our general understanding of the neonatal lung is limited. This pilot project will investigate the use of lung MRI in neonates as a safe alternative to CT for structural imaging of the lung that does not involve the use of ionising radiation, sedation nor injection of contrast.
We propose a pilot study in healthy term neonates. Five to eight participants from the Jessop Wing, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (STH) will undergo an MRI scan (approximately 1 hour) of their lungs at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital (connected to the Jessop Wing). The neonates will be soothed with a 'feed-and-swaddle' technique to avoid the use of sedation. All scans will be reviewed by two consultant paediatric radiologists to assess their interpretability and baseline characteristics. We will use a standard adult 1.5T whole-body MRI scanner, which offers advantages over a dedicated neonatal scanner in terms of ease of widespread adoption of these techniques, and the opportunity to follow-up patients. There is already a pathway in place for clinical neonatal brain MRI on 1.5T whole-body scanners, which we will follow and adapt for the lungs.
Following on from this pilot study, we hope to further investigate the ability of MRI to successfully image infants with lung disease.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/WM/0253
Date of REC Opinion
9 Jan 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion