Dr Evonne Low:  Former Wellcome Trust PhD Clinical Research Fellow

Evonne Low is a former member of the NBRG where her research work involved EEG in both the term and preterm.

Research Interests
The definite diagnosis of seizures in preterm and full term infants is critically dependent on expert interpretation of the full standard EEG.  However, this service may not be pragmatically available around the clock.  It is necessary to have an effective and a robust system to detect seizures with precision and as rapidly as possible following application of the full standard EEG, to enable clinicians to instigate the appropriate intervention for the newborn. 

The Neonatal Automated Seizure Detection project provides us that promising alternative at the newborns' cotside.  Whilst collecting data for this translation research project which is funded by the Wellcome Trust, the objectives of my PhD research are to compare the seizure burden in fullterm infants with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) versus those with focal cerebral lesions, and between those receiving whole body therapeutic hypothermia versus those receiving standard care.  We will be analysing the seizure burden in preterm versus full term infants, together with changes in the vital signs such as heart rate, peripheral oxygenation and blood pressure, including changes in the regional cerebral oxygenation measured by near infrared spectrometry.

Data collection for this research project is based on the collaboration between the Neonatal Units at the Cork University Maternity Hospital and the University College of London.  The validation and optimisation procedures for the Neonatal Automated Seizure Detection system are in collaboration with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, UCC.  The supervisors for my PhD research are Dr. Geraldine Boylan (EEG) and Professor Tony Ryan (Clinical).