Bioelectrical and Neuroengineering Commons^™

Early Detection And Objective Assessment Of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Severity, Soheila Norasteh

Bioengineering Dissertations

Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a neonatal brain injury caused by reduced oxygen and blood flow to the brain around the time of birth. It remains a major cause of neonatal mortality and long-term neurodevelopmental impairment worldwide. Therapeutic hypothermia is the standard treatment for moderate-to severe HIE and improves outcomes when initiated within the first six hours of life. Therefore, accurate assessment of injury severity during this period is essential. Cur rently, HIE severity is determined primarily through neurological examination and classified as mild, moderate, or severe. However, these examinations are subjective, cannot provide continuous monitoring of brain function, and may …

Novel Electrophysiological Biomarkers In Pediatric Drug Resistant Epilepsy And Genetic Epilepsy Syndromes, Sakar Rijal

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Pediatric epilepsies, particularly those that are drug-resistant or genetically driven, represent some of the most complex neurological disorders encountered in childhood. Central to their pathophysiology is a disruption in the delicate balance between cortical excitation and inhibition (E/I), often resulting from impaired GABAergic interneuron function. This imbalance manifests as aberrant network dynamics and altered neural oscillations, giving rise to seizures and long-term cognitive impairments. In this thesis, we developed a translational framework to identify electrophysiological biomarkers that (i) assess cortical E/I imbalance and (ii) map epileptogenic zones, with the aim of enhancing diagnosis, guiding surgical planning, and informing therapeutic monitoring …

Neurovascular Coupling Impairments In Acute Traumatic Brain Injury: An Eeg-Nirs Analysis, Zachary Armstrong

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of neurological impairment, often leading to variable recovery and uncertain prognosis in the neurocritical care setting. There is a pressing clinical need for robust, physiologically grounded biomarkers to inform prognosis and therapeutic decision-making in acute TBI. This thesis investigates neurovascular coupling (NVC), the physiological coordination between neuronal activity and cerebral blood flow, as a candidate biomarker for brain function and recovery after injury.

A prospective cohort study was performed using simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) recordings in patients with moderate-to-severe TBI and healthy controls. Wavelet transform coherence (WTC) analysis was …