ANSeR
Trial Complete
ANSeR
the Algorithm for Neonatal Seizure Recognition
Principal Investigator – Dr. Adrienne Foran
ANSeR is a multi-centre clinical investigation of an automated computer system (algorithm) that can detect seizures in newborn babies. ANSeR was developed by the Neonatal Brain Research Group at University College Cork in collaboration with University College London and has been funded by the Wellcome Trust. The Rotunda Hospital is one of 8 European sites involved in the ANSeR clinical investigation.
Seizures are the most common neurological emergency encountered in the neonatal intensive care unit and are frequently caused by problems such as hypoxia-ischaemia, haemorrhage, meningitis, infection or stroke. Seizures can put newborn babies at risk of serious complications. Early and accurate detection is therefore crucial to allow for appropriate treatment. Despite this, accurate diagnosis of seizures can be very challenging in newborns. The gold standard for seizure diagnosis is electroencephalography (EEG), which allows for continuous monitoring of brain activity.
However, the specific expertise required for interpretation of the EEG is not readily available in most neonatal intensive care units. ANSeR aims to help with this issue by providing a computer-based decision support tool that will alert healthcare professionals to potential seizures. ANSeR works by analysing EEG data which is collected as normal standard of care and generating real-time automated analysis that is similar to a human expert.
ANSeR is 10 years in the making and extensive research has already been performed to develop, validate and test the algorithm. The current ANSeR investigation is testing the algorithm in real-time in the neonatal intensive care setting.
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